Obert Chifamba Agri — Today my offering will start with this old joke about farming.
A farmer wins the lotto - several millions of dollars. And, as he is getting older, over 55 years of age, his advisor asks him what he is going to do with all the money.
He replies that he will keep on farming until all the money is finished. Typical subsistence farming mentality!
This farmer's response typifies the views of most farmers in the subsistence category.
They seem to believe that subsistence farming is a lifestyle that they were born into or one that they have come to prefer over other farming practices.
These farmers do not seem to see opportunities of growth when they present themselves.
Instead of planning how to invest the money into better farming projects or improving operations, the farmer is comfortable using the money to fund traditional activities until it is all gone. And it will be back to square one again for the farmer.
It seems some subsistence farmers are always struggling with many things - food shortages, pests destroying their crops, climate change, lack of vital information on markets and limited access to basic requirements for competitive farming. To most of them, these struggles have become part of their lives and they feel powerless but do not lose hope that things will be better for their children once their fortunes change.
Essentially, the Second Republic's current push for all farming activities to be treated as businesses is informed by the desire to eliminate this subsistence mentality among this farmer category and instil a sense of commerce to excite competitive production.
This push by Government will require farmers to take a moment to appreciate the changes currently taking place in the agricultural landscape and see how taking a business stance will re-shape their lives both in terms of food security and their socio-economic realities.
It will not require rocket science for anyone to appreciate that farming is a low return industry especially for farmers in the smallholder category whose returns are normally small given that most of them have been until recently doing mono-cropping.
In essence, this meant that they would only get a small income, if any, from a little surplus when a season turned more generous than usual.
This is further exacerbated by the fact that majority of smallholder farmers only get a fat cheque once a year after a fruitful season, which is increasingly becoming difficult because of climate change challenges.
Most farmers seem to be scared by the idea of converting their operations from subsistence to business just because it is more of an adventure into something they think they have never done before.
The thing is they have been doing business through farming but did not realise it.
There will be nothing these farmers will need to change much because agriculture has always been a business - one that can be profitable if properly done.
Many people do not see agriculture as profitable because of farmers who do it as a hobby and not serious business.
In fact, creating profit from agriculture involves several key factors such as careful planning, efficient management and effective marketing.
Before taking the decision to do farming competitively the farmer needs to come up with a business plan.
This is an essential tool for any meaningful farming operation.
The plan should focus on such things as the type of crops or livestock the farmer is targeting to produce, the projected yields, costs of production, the pricing strategy in the event of surpluses and how the produce will be marketed.
A properly formulated business and marketing plan will arm the farmer with the capacity to make informed decisions that factor in potential challenges and opportunities.
It is encouraging to note that Government is going all out to position farmers in vantage points from which they can launch their bids to transform their operations from subsistence to commercial.
All businesses require start-up capital for the procurement of basic tools of the trade and Government has taken care of this by giving farmers inputs and training.
It is also pushing to make water available through boreholes in case the weather turns hostile to cropping projects.
The business units being established countrywide and the business managers ARDA is deploying to assist farmers clearly demonstrate the direction Government wants farming to take.
Farmers will get the experience of running their operations professionally from the gardens that they will run as irrigation schemes.
This will enable them to transfer the knowledge they get there to their own fields or gardens.
Farmers should always remember that farming can be an expensive venture, which makes it crucial for them to manage their costs effectively.
Now that Government is taking away a large chunk of the costs, farmers can complement that by using less expensive input options such as organic fertilisers or adopting new technologies that can increase efficiency and productivity. Incidentally, organic fertilisers are the ones most consumers now favour ahead of their chemically produced counterparts. The use of organic fertilisers will give their output a competitive edge over crops using chemical fertilisers.
To spread risk in the face of the current climatic challenges, farmers need to diversify cropping options, which also translates into separate income streams.
This naturally helps them maximise profits.
In some cases, this may involve selling crops or livestock through various channels, such as farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture or direct-to-consumer sales.
Farmers can also leverage online marketing tools like social media, email marketing, and websites to reach more customers and grow their businesses' reach.
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It is also increasingly becoming important for farmers to explore various revenue streams given that the advent of climate change has come with heightened possibilities of crop failures.
Various farming activities generally fare differently under adverse climatic conditions, which that if one option fails there are chances of the other coming out better.
Options such as bee keeping, poultry rearing, agro-tourism, joint venture arrangements or even renting can cushion the farmer from outright losses and the subsequent destitute situation.
In some cases, farmers can add grit to the operations and make them more profitable through strategies such as diversifying crops to meet market demands and exploring value-addition by processing and selling finished products directly to consumers.
The irrigation schemes to which many farmers can be members should also help broaden market penetration chances because the same marketing strategies used there can also come in handy on the individual level.
I will wrap up my offering by exploring some of the things farmers need to do before they can become serious business people.
Farmers need to institute a proper research on the area/land on which they plan to grow crops and have the soil tested for its nutrients - acidity and alkalinity levels and so forth.
The next thing is to choose certified seed according to consumer/customer preferences and follow the agronomic practices that are popular with the market.
They must use the integrated pest management (IPM) option to contain pests instead of applying pesticides.
