Chapters 8.53

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Suggested citation for this chapter.

Quinlan,L. (2022) Mustard Crop Value Addition,In Farmpedia, The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers. Editor, M.N. Raizada, University of Guelph, Canada. http://www.farmpedia.org

Introduction

Mustard has been a very popular plant over the centuries as it offers many uses. Mustard (usually canola) is used as a cooking oil, and is deemed the best cooking oil for human health (Gunstone, 2004). Mustards are also used as a high protein meal for animals (Acharya et.al, 2015) Mustards versatility is also proven in the leaves, as the leaves are harvested and eaten as a warm dish called “saag” in South Asia (Ahmed et. al, 2006). According to the FAO, a smallholder farmer in Nepal will have about 2% of their crops as mustard seeds (Rapsomanikis, 2015). Mustard is also great for smallholder farmers as it can also reduce the need for added chemicals as it reduces weeds, pests and disease (Chapagain & Raizada, 2017).

Mustard oil

For the smallholder farmer cooking oil is very useful for their own families and they can sell it to other farmers. Oil can be extracted from the mustard seeds in many ways, however for smallholder farmers they will most likely want to use the traditional method of extraction as it does not require as much equipment or investment.

The seeds are placed in a circular pit, in the center is a pestle and one end it is attached to a beam with a counterweight at one end and yoked by an animal so it can spin (Achaya, 2015). The pressure breaks the seed and eventually crushes the oil out, this is called Ghani technology (Achaya, 2015). This technology requires an animal, preferably a strong one like an ox or a horse. The large drum (circular pit) and pestle can be scavenged, as long as the equipment functions, there are no specific requirements. The operator can also be the counter weight to the yoke in order to provide lateral pressure to the yoke and therefore the pestle (Achaya, 2015). Labor will be needed in controlling and guiding the oil extraction process as well as packaging (Achaya, 2015). Cooperatives are most useful in helping to provide an ox for families or in networking farmers to target markets and help them to sell their products. Farmers can sell this oil to their neighbors or through food markets, and cooperatives can also help in this area by providing packaging to these farmers so their product stays clean and sealed.

Issues with producing oil from this crop would be the startup costs; being as the equipment is relatively large and expensive a cooperative would be needed to help or families would need to join together to purchase the initial equipment. It may also be difficult for smallholder farmers to store mustard seeds as the climate may not allow for it. Increased humidity leads to more diseases and pests (Suma, 2013).

The following are excellent resources for smallholder farmers, and although the process for extraction and cleaning is a bit higher tech, it is very useful for smallholder farmers to understand the methods and modern technologies they could put into practice: http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/smallscale_oilseedprocessing.pdf https://rodaleinstitute.org/small-scale-oilseed-production/. And also this awesome pdf from the FAO: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5251e.pdf.

Cooked food from mustard leaves

Another use of the mustard plant is that it can be used for human consumption. Mustard leaves are used in a dish called “saag” in South Asia, which is typically served as a thickened green stew. The meal is prepared by washing and chopping the mustard greens (Vishwanathan, 2018). The greens are then cooked and simmered into a thick stew full of antioxidants (Vishwanathan, 2018).

The equipment needed is quite simple, as after it is harvested the leaves need to be pulled from the mustard plant and chopped up. They can be chopped with a knife or ripped if the proper equipment is lacking. The leaves need to be boiled and simmered so water is necessary and a pot to cook it in. Labor for this would typically include the individual needed to clean the leaves, simmer and cook them.

The only serious target market for fresh saag is a roadside stand since it is typically served as a hot dish. However, there is also a market for dehydrated and packaged saag. This could be very useful for farmers to keep the saag over the next season. Difficulties would lie with packaging and drying, as drying requires a lot of equipment and therefore is very expensive. These two following links are dry packaged saag and can be purchased online although smallholder farmers would make their own: https://www.amazon.ca/Jyoti-Saag-Paneer-Ounce-Pack/dp/B00CFX8N5E https://www.jyotifoods.com/product/saag-paneer/.

Cattle feed

Once the oil is extracted from mustard seeds, it becomes a high protein meal for cattle usually called canola cake. This meal is great for animals and is actually proved to be more nutritious for dairy cows producing milk than soybean meal (Gous, 2014). This is very useful for smallholder farmers if they are producing mustard or canola oil anyways, as the high protein meal is a byproduct which can be used to feed their animals. This is one of the reasons why canola is such a great plant, because they can produce all three products with different parts of the plant.

The equipment required to produce mustard cake is the same equipment needed for the oil extraction process as the purpose is the oil extraction not the production of meal. The only thing that needs to be added to the meal needs is water (Sehwag et.al, 2015). The capital cost is a big issue with this value addition, as well as the storage and transportation of the cake.

Another big issue is that such a large quantity needs to be bought and sold and stored as opposed to canola oil which one can buy in small quantities. Cooperatives need to be of assistance to provide proper silos where the meal can be stored at a regulated temperature and humidity until sold. Once purchased the meal can be put in trailers or wagons and be hauled to farms nearby (usually by an animal). This would be the target market for the producers and they do not need to package it, rather only store it in large quantities.

The cost analysis is also minimal for this byproduct because the majority of cost lies in the oil extraction, and the only additional cost for the meal is the water needed.

A common problem would be the storage and ensuring that the meal was not too moist or dry and then developing mold or pests on account of this. Here are some useful links to demonstrate how cattle benefit on canola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7vTHGP49ks or https://www.canolacouncil.org/oil-and- meal/canola-meal/ are links proving canola is excellent for cattle and why.

Summary

In summary, mustard is an extremely useful plant for many reasons, and the best part is it can be used for all these value additions at the same time. I believe smallholder farmers would largely benefit from this crop and more cooperatives should make a push towards mustard crops for smallholder farmers as it gives so many benefits. As listed above these are the instructions that smallholder farmers need to produce this crop, extra research should be done before planting however if farmers can get enough initial investment to get this crop on the market, it could be a very successful business plan.

References

1. Gunstone, F. D. Rapeseed and Canola Oil: Production, Processing, Properties and Uses. Blackwell Publishers, 2004, Canada books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BgPVh9ksy3cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=canola as a healthy oil&ots=SOB9e8EGFe&sig=ODK-B1nOoqN-2wN_jO3BmsxTzRw#v=onepage&q=canola as a healthy oil&f=false.

2. P. Acharya, D. J. Schingoethe, K. F. Kalscheur, D. P. Casper. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 2015, 95(2): 267-279, https://doi.org/10.4141/cjas-2014-130

3. Downey, R.K. 2003. Mustard. In S.H. Katz and W.W. Weaver (Vol 1 eds 1). 2003. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Gale Virtual Reference Library. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0684314169.

4. Abonyi, B., Feng, H., Tang, J., Edwards, C., & Fellman, J. (2006). Quality Retention in Strawberry and Carrot Purees Dried with Refractance WindowTM System. Journal of Food Science 67(3), 1051-1056. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2002.tb09452.x

5. Barthet, V. “Canola.” Canola | The Canadian Encyclopedia, 23 Apr. 2013, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canola.

6. Achaya, K T. International Rice Commission Newsletter Vol. 48, FAO of the UN, Rome. www.fao.org/docrep/T4660T/t4660t0b.htm.

7. Suma, A. et al. (2013). Role of Relative Humidity in Processing and Storage of Seeds and Assessment of Variability in Storage Behaviour in Brassica Spp. and Eruca Sativa. Scientific World Journal 2013: 504141. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3893012/

8. Vishwanathan, M.. “Sarson Ka Saag Recipe, How to Make Punjabi Sarson Ka Saag Recipe.” Veg Recipes of India, 25 Sept. 2018, www.vegrecipesofindia.com/sarson-ka-saag/.

9. Gous, R. (2014, July). Feeding canola to dairy cattle. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.proteinresearch.net/poems/images/projects/0459/literature-review/2-9-3a-lr-gous-r-2014.pdf

10. Sehwag, S., & Madhusweta, D. (2015). A brief overview: Present status on utilization of mustard Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 14(2), 244-250. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/523e/20b629e4b48a653d02737fd8c7064ea84a07.pdf

11. Rapsomanikis, G. (2015). The economic lives of smallholder farmers. FAO, Rome. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i5251e.pdf

12. Chapagain, T., & Raizada, M. N. (2017, March 17). Agronomic Challenges and Opportunities for Smallholder Terrace Agriculture in Developing Countries. Frontiers in Plant Science 8: 331.

13. Retrieved November 27, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5355443/