20/09/2024
10 Mistakes People Make When Entering The Farming Space.
1. Starting big without experience: Everything starts small. Starting small is not a weakness but a strategy. There are too many advantages of starting small.
2. Building a mansion at the farm,You do not need a fancy House when starting your farming enterprise unless u intend to set up an unproductive rural home. Let business lead not comfort & pride to show off on social media.
3. Lack of focus: Copying what everyone is doing. Changing from time to time. Focus on a few, grow and dominate the sector. Competition is not healthy, seek to control a sector. Have laser focus on a few things. If possible specialize, be a reference point for one particular thing.
4. Producing without the market: It is safer to 'produce for the market, than to market the produce'. That is one of the advantages of starting small. Let the real customer guide you. The market is your greatest.
5. working assumptions: Untested assumptions are very costly. Never put a big budget on assumptions. Thank me later.
6. Hiring unqualified and nearest people: Only a fool will entrust a N15m investment in the hands of an uneducated relative or some cheap guy or an illiterate couple desperately looking for a place to stay. If farming is a business, then get trained people. Never hire anyone you can't fire. Unless it is urgent avoid relatives. Hire the best you can and do not trust them.
7. Working without a plan: Where do you intend to take the farming business to in 5, 10 or 20 years? I have a 50-year plan that my children know where they come in. They know that the harvest of my efforts might come during their time and we are okay with it. How big do you intend to grow? Which markets are you pursuing, and when? How will you know when you get there?
8. Remote farming: Others call it cellphone farming. Once you decide to farm, be willing to divorce city life. Go to town only to buy buildings & to collect rental money. The master's eye fattens the sheep. Don't come to the farm & talk to your workers from a car & go back. Never come drunk.
9. Investing in infrastructure without production: Your business is farming not buildings. Invest in stock, not ut with the best breeds/variety of what you want to grow.
10. Setting too short time frames: Farming is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. This is the reason many vegetable and broiler farmers never make any money. Although Broiler & veggies like Cucumber are ready in 5-6 weeks, your money is usually ready after 2 years of consistency. Get in with a plan to evaluate at least 3 times in 5 years. Anything less will not give you an informed perspective.
