How to start your agric business this year

There isn't a better time to start ones agric business than now.

The removal of the gasoline subsidy is a pointer to the fact we must look in direction of agriculture. For the past 6days we've been staying at home eating!. That is to tell you that food or foodstuff is a commodity that will always promote. Here are some tips on how to make your agric business this yr.

1. Set Goals- What are your goals for ones farm? What kind of farm do you think you're planning? It might be an activity farm, where your farm is a supplement to a full-time work, something relaxing you can do for fun within the evenings and on the weekends. It could be that you want your farm to essentially make money(a commercial farm), eventually replacing your present job. Or, your goal might be to provide all the food that your self need - homesteading or self-sufficiency. Your goal will determine the length of land, location and amount of money needed to start.

2. Identify and list what you look for to raise or grow: your decision on what you look for to grow or raise depends on the intention of the farm project either pertaining to business (profit) or for spouse and children consumption. A commercial farmer might be considering setting up a plantation- essential oil palm, cocoa, jatropha, moringa, cashew as well as pineapple plantation.

3. Draw a time table of if you want to start. Some crops include different growing periods. Animals can be raised anytime of the yr.

4. Information Gathering: no information is wasted, get all the necessary information on what you look for to raise. Without proper information on what for you to do, you might make some expensive mistakes that ought to have been avoided. You might get more informed by attending classes, seminars, reading books on ones proposed projects, asking questions from people already in the industry or hiring a consultant.

5 Make a feasibility report/Business plan: this gives you a summary of what for you to do. This you can do for you or pay someone to do it for you.. The feasibility study offers an investigating function that should remedy the question of “Is this a viable business venture? ” The business plan comes with a planning function that outlines those things needed to take the suggestion from “idea” to “reality. ” The feasibility study is conducted prior to a business plan. A business plan is prepared only following the business venture has been deemed being feasible. A business plan is compulsory for the large scale investor especially if you need a loan from your lender.

6. Acquire land or rent. - this applies to individuals who don’t have land. If you already have land you can begin to clear the land.

7. Label your Farm: Registering your business is important. Register the name of your farm and more importantly, the name of ones agricultural business. A farm which is not registered with CAC cannot accessibility loan from any bank throughout Nigeria.

8. Raising Capital: Privately, I advise against borrowing with a new comer into agric organization. But if you think you have to, these are ways to raise capitals either from formal as well as informal institutions: Informal institutions:

*Loan from spouse.
*Loan from relatives/Friends.
*Equity taking part.
*Partnership
*Loan from Foundations, NGOS, Cathedral, etc
Formal institutions:
*Cooperatives
*Micro- finance banks.
*Commercial banks.

9. Don’t quit your career: if you have a job that brings which you regular income, by all means hang through to it until your farm business begins to yield enough that you take salary out of the benefits. If you are close to be able to retirement, I strongly advise that an individual start you agric project while you're re still working, don’t wait and soon you retire.

10. Get the support of this spouse, other family members or neighbors: ‘Support’ might be what it is advisable to reduce initial expenses. Let the people in the area understand what you are seeking to do, they may find it very exciting. Sometimes, whole families pitch in and work together and share in the success of a venture

11. Get your initial stocks you need to!. Some Areas of investment:
Planting Agriculture: Teak, oil palm, powdered cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards, Photography equipment mango, etc
Animals: grass second hand cutter, goat, cow, sheep, rabbits, snails, canine breeding, Quail, etc

Some Elements of investment:
Food crops - cassava. yam. cocoyam, lovely potatoes, corn, millet, soya pinto beans, groundnuts, etc
Horticulture: vegetables, natural herbs, fruits, flowers, dry season organic production, etc
Plantation Agriculture: Teak, essential oil palm, cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards, etc

Livestock: poultry, hatchery business, marketing of 6weeks old birds, quails, turkeys, guinea chicken, etc

Agro -allied/equipment - advices, agricultural equipment -tractor, sprinklers, fertilizer, compounds, etc.

Food processing/cottage agric corporations: foodstuff processing and packaging(gaari, yam flour, starch, pinto beans, pepper, rice, etc), catfish cigarette smoking business, frozen food-chicken, snails, grasscutter, quail meat, prawns, palm oil milling organization, moringa powder and oil output, cashew nuts processing and appearance, feed formulation for catfish, poultry, quails, dogs.
Stay blessed along with happy farming!