Mkulima today several people would like to get into farming with the hopes of earning more money or create employment for themselves. While this is a noble profession there are a few housekeeping rules. Here is how to start out in farming.
Today together we are going to cover the prayer of a novice farmer. If you are just starting out in farming find someone to hold your hands or learn quick.
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Having someone to hold your hand will help you reduce your learning cove resulting in better returns for you as well as reduced losses.
If I was to start farming today what would I do differently?
1.I would start small. Don’t be in a hurry to make it just as the plants take time to mature don’t pressure yourself. At all times keep in mind that directions are more important than speed.
Ensure you are moving in the right direction and that should be towards the reason why you started farming.
A good rule of thumb is to always remember why you got into farming in the first place.
2. Make sure you have the right manpower. Human resource is the key factor to a successful farm. One of the leading issues you will face on the farm is dealing with your farm hands. Though most of them are great at what they do you will find some that will give you sleepless nights.
At some point in your farming journey, you will experience theft of materials as well as negligence from your farm.
If these issues are not resolved then you will be left with huge losses, wasted time, and no produce to harvest.
Vet your farmhands and get those that align with the goal of the farm or with your needs.
I would advise you not to take anything at face value. Test the team with their duties and then make up your mind and hire.
3. I would invest in myself too. Learn some basic farming before you dive in the deep end of farming. Attend workshops, seminars and prioritize farm visits to other successful farmers for learning.
You can learn a lot in agriculture just by asking questions, go out there and ask.
While asking for information always remember not all experienced farmers are experts but all experts are experienced.
With better information leads to better farms.
4. Before anything else on the farm, in fact before buying I would first site for water and drill a good yield borehole. All farm products and produce require water.
Be it animals or crops no farm will prosper without water. They say water is life but on your farm it what will get you to the bank and get your money.
A farm with water challenges is like a brand new car with an old engine. You can give it all the things needed to make a car run but it will always be unreliable and can break down at any point.
5. I wouldn’t invest very much in infrastructure. Invest in production and let your produce build your infrastructure one step at a time. Many farms have great structures but no money for production. Avoid going in too big.
How to start out in farming is just like a newborn start small and build what you need as you go.
Most of the time farmers build beautiful and sometimes expensive structures only to realize later they don’t have the capacity for the facility or it is not productive as had been planned.
After this, you will be left with wishes on how better you could have spent the money at a time when you might be faced with the need to purchase a new machine or medication for the animals or to spray your crops.
5. Plan your farm in detail, plan for every 3 months which is quarterly, plan mid-year every six months and plan yearly.
Always have a 3-year plan of how you want your farm to look or where you expect it to be and a 5-year plan known as the long-term plan.
Keep reviewing these plans as per your needs and ensure you meet the goals you set for each period that is how to start out in farming.
6. Prioritize marketing strategies and market research. What good is a product that cant be sold? Many farmers are faced with the challenge of access to the market once they have produced.
Production as a farmer is not easy and time-consuming. As you wait for the products to get ready for harvesting start planning your storage and sales strategy.
7. Be consistent on one thing. You will hear questions from novice farmers like what is more profitable between veggies and piggery or broiler chickens?
That’s a wrong question to ask and most of the time you will receive a wrong answer. What you need to do is find a gap in the market and fill that.
Anything done well and consistently is profitable. What most people lack is consistency
This is what I would do differently starting out in farming. What would you do differently?

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