“A plan is of little value unless it serves as a guide for action within changing conditions. Therefore, if plans are to be effective and helpful as a guide, they must be evaluated continuously and revised to fit current...
“A plan is of little value unless it serves as a guide for action within changing conditions. Therefore, if plans are to be effective and helpful as a guide, they must be evaluated continuously and revised to fit current and expected future conditions (looking at the outcome and progress).”
Success in Farming just like any business venture or monetized venture is greatly dependent on a well thought out plan. Among the Key factors that should be considered carefully during the planning stage of the farming operation are Selecting Enterprise, Marketing Strategies and ‘Site Selection and Land Preparation’. Agriculture is as dynamic as the rest of the economy. Today, personal preferences and family goals, no matter how strong, are modified by the profit maximization objective. There are, however, certain limitations in maximizing income. Within these limitations, each farmer must try to make the highest profit from the resources he controls including land, labor, and capital. Each farmer must try to determine an enterprise, a business or the enterprise mix which makes most efficient use of his limited resources. There is no one best combination of enterprises that will work best for all farms, even in a particular area. The exact enterprises and the relative intensity of each is an individual farm problem. This write up serves as a guide to facilitate your farming venture.
1. SELECTING AN ENTERPRISE
When choosing a new enterprise or a Farm business for example Egg Production or Poultry Farm respectively it is important to use market outlook as the rule of thumb; availability of market, stable commodity price and transparent value chain in order to achieve maximum effect. So the first step when selecting an enterprise is knowing what, how, when and where to produce – Market Research!
Market Research: Research current and potential markets to identify trends, competitors, needs, and buyers. Be sure to take time to collect data. Obtaining good data serves as the foundation for the creation of an effective strategy. The better the information, the better your strategic plan will be. For example, if you are considering raising pastured pork, you will need to research whether pastured pork is currently available in your area, how much it sells for currently, how many potential customers eat pork, how much they value pastured pork over other pork options, etc.
With proper Market research little details like:
Most liked Variety (Taste/Trend).Self Life after harvest (In Store).Transportation Handling… Especially for Vegetables will be taken care of/addressed.Profitability Analysis: Some call this Gross Margin Analysis or Cost Benefit Analysis. Which ever way you call it. This is an equally important aspect of Enterprise Selection during the Planning Phase of Farming.
Cost Benefit analysis is simple assessing Possible income against Production Costs to see if the enterprise is profitable. GMA guides the farmer in setting prices looking at his or her Unit Cost of Production.
Costs of Production will be listed down and total obtained per acre; The Costs are Buying Inputs, Labor, Transport, Hiring Land and other costs. Now this takes us back to Market research; it is important you know the possible or average yield a desired crop variety can give you per acre so that you can use it to calculate Income.
Profit = Income – Total Cost of Production.
Case; Maize Unit Cost of Production.
Assuming the:
Cost of Production; Hiring Land, Labor, Buying Inputs etc is Ush720,000/=And Yield per acre is 960kgsThe Unit Cost of Production will be 720,000/960 equals to 750/= per Kg.What 750/= means is that the farmer will only get profit if he or she sells at a Price greater than 750/=.With this analysis done, you should by now have an enterprise or business selected! So you set Marketing Strategies in Place.
2. MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIES.
It is important to note that most agricultural markets are “perfectly competitive,” meaning (ideally) that a homogeneous product is produced by and for many sellers and buyers, who are well informed about prices. The market is characterized by free entry and exit, with producers obligated to be price takers.
This simply means creating awareness about the Product you will be bringing to the Market in 3 Months or so. Yes, It is so important that you let your potential Buyers know about the Enterprise; Quality, Variety and Quantity.
Examples of Market Strategies could be Contract Farming, On Farm Marketing, Online Marketing etc. Selecting a Strategy is greatly a farmer’s choice and they come with varying limitations. So after identifying Possible Buyers/Marketing Strategy in this case the farmer can know go ahead and begin the Production Phase of the Enterprise while keeping in mind the Terms and Conditions of the Marketing Strategy; For example, for a farmer to sell to an organic market he or she needs to be registered and certified member and stick to production using organic inputs. Using Inorganic Inputs will compromise the Market!
3. SITE SELECTION AND LAND PREPARATION
The most effective means of reducing potential problems during farming is by proper site selection and one of the most important stages in Crop Production, Timely Land Preparation.
Site Selection
The following should be considered when selecting a land/site for farming.
Gentle slopesDeep Fertile and well drained SoilsAccessibilityAvoid the following.
Water logged areas Ant Hill (Source of Termites)Too many trees/Heavy Shading.Too sloppy areas.Very sandy soils.Soils with too much clay.ValleysThe Importance of Observation when selecting a site.
Observation is an important skill or approach when selecting a site for farming. Observation simply means seeing and deducing or analyzing. So the farmer is urged to keep records or know the history of the site he or she is about to select.
For example if you are aware that the site you are about to select for bean production floods when it rains; with such an observation, the farmer either looks for a favorable land or opens up water trenches in the site to improve drainage/control flooding.
Also, Observation has been used by farmers to assume or predict soil fertility especially looking at the color. This is misleading because not every dark has all the nutrients required for plant growth. However, instead of observing the soil color we urge the farmers to base on the following as signs of soil fertility.
Vegetation cover and plant growth vigor; the presence of Guinea grass and Commelina on a site shows high soil fertility and Spear grass is associated with soils having poor fertility. Fertile soils also have healthy vegetation with dark green leaves.
Soil Moisture/Water retention capacity; Soils that form balls and crumble on slight pressure show soils with good drainage. Which is not the case with clay soils.
Soil depth; a fertile/good agricultural should be at least 30cm deep, that is the top layer that can support crop growth. Deep soils hold enough nutrients and water for crops to grow well.
Land Preparation
The timing of land preparation is extremely important. Land preparation should begin either at the end of the harvesting period or at least 3 weeks (21 days) before planting to allow breakdown of organic matter. Land should be ploughed at least twice in some cases followed with harrowing to obtain a fine seedbed.
Where the field has a known history of bean pests such as pod borers, bean fly and beetles, complement ploughing with harrowing to kill the surviving eggs, pupae and adult pests.
If the site is very bushy, first clear land by slashing down all plant parts and leave them on the ground, or plough in the plant residues using appropriate equipment and burry them (Deep Cultivation). Farmers are advised to reduce burning of plant residues.
If the field was previously covered with weeds like Amaranthus spp, which produce a lot of seeds, then the land needs to be prepared early in the season.
Importance of timely land preparation
Timely land preparation will help soil to conserve moisture; improve the water-retention capacity, water-infiltration capacity and increase soil fertility and allows soil to cool before panting.
Lastly, how you decide to open the land could vary depending on where you want to grow from, as below.
| Advantages | Disadvantages | |
| Tractors | High acreage per unit timeProper Turning of the soil | Disturbs Soil StructureHigh Cost of Hiring |
| Ox Plough | More available Soil structure less disturbed | Lower acreage per unit time |
| Hand Hoe | Very affordable | No proper turning of soil |
| Chemicals | Effective in clearingSaves time | Harmful to humans.Requires Skills |
| Slashing | Cheap | No Proper root Penetration |
| Bush Burning | CheapNo skills needed | Kills Soil Micro Organisms |
We want to wish you the best during your FARMING VENTURE.
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