29 Jun 2021
Farming is an endeavor that allows a person to be
involved in the growing of crops or keeping of domestic animals for the purpose
of producing food and raw materials. Over the course of time, farming has rapidly
evolved to incorporate technological and scientific advancements to make it a sustainable
undertaking that utilizes resources such as land and water efficiently. These
advancements have enabled the achievement of food security and significant
revenues in many developed economies.
However, aspiring farmers need to keep key considerations
in mind when deciding to become a farmer.
Before you embark on your farming venture there are critical
questions that one must be able to answer in order to make the farming journey
a success. The first and most important question is Why do you want to farm?
This question will easily help an aspiring farmer to have a purpose or
objective as to why he/she wants to farm.
This question has to be followed by asking What do
you want to produce? This question helps a farmer understand that from the
wide range of products available, he/she can focus on producing one or two with
determination. For example, if one wants to be a livestock or crop farmer, they
must decide to either focus on the production of cattle, sheep, goats, poultry,
pigs, or crops. If one opts to produce livestock (cattle, sheep, and goats),
aspiring farmers should identify their product of choice (breeding stock,
weaners, oxen, or steers) to produce from their cattle farming venture.
Aspiring crop farmers on the other hand may decide to focus on growing agronomy
crops such as maize, pearl millet, wheat, or sorghum for grain production or to
produce vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbages, potatoes, etc.
The third question is Whom are you producing for?
This question helps you identify your potential target market which will be the
immediate consumers of your product. Furthermore, this helps you to properly
plan your production to meet sufficient quantities demanded by your target
market.
The fourth question is What are your expectations? This
question addresses the farmer ‘s envisaged output from the farming operations
in the form of revenue and profit. Farmers are also encouraged to keep records
that they can use to assess their progress, costs, and incomes. This will
enable any farmer to answer this critical last question, is farming a
business? Once you decide to embark on a farming journey, it should always
be noted that once money is invested, one should anticipate a return on
investment, and this makes farming a business.
Starting a farm is a complicated endeavor because it
encompasses a myriad of aspects. In no particular order, farmers must consider
business planning, finding land, securing financing, marketing, production
selection, production knowledge, securing equipment, developing or securing
infrastructure, and their vision for their farm. Moreover, an aspiring farmer
should be cognizant of their knowledge and experience levels. In the final
analysis, addressing these questions may ease the planning process and enable
farmers to set up sustainable and profitable farming businesses.
Author: Hanks Saisai, Technical Advisor: Crops
& Poultry (Agribank’s Agri Advisory Services Division)
Loans are granted against security of fixed property, investment or any other acceptable form of security (fixed deposits, investments and surrendering value of policies). read more
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Yes, Agribank can assist you to start farming. read more