Becoming A Successful Farmer: What You Need To Know

Farming, as we all know, is the practice of cultivating the land or raising animals, which is mostly considered an occupation or a way of life. Everyone is aware that farming is divided into two major categories: cropping systems and livestock production.

Success is not what can be attained in a day, but through a lot of effort, commitment, mistakes, and guidance from others. To become a successful farmer, you must have acquired great knowledge about the part of farming you are envisioning.

In today's Nigeria, we can all testify to the debasement of the economy, which can be seen in the increasing inflation rate of commodities. The agricultural sector of Nigeria faces many challenges which impact on its productivity, which include climate change, land degradation, the poor land tenure system, bad roads, etc.

Why did you want to start farming?

This is a very important question, to which I believe you should have gotten an answer. However, you have still yet to answer this question. Let me elaborate a bit on this to help you in your decision-making.

There are a series of personal reasons for starting a farm, whether venturing into cropping systems or livestock production. As the farmers slogan says, "No Farmer, No Nation", this proves that, without food, no living being on earth will be able to survive for long. All reasons for starting a farm can be categorized into two categories:

Consumption: In the local region, you will observe a lot of domestic animals in free-range, which are mostly for personal consumption. There are a lot of families out there that have backyard farms that might be pot-raised plants or cultivated on land. Vegetables and plantains/bananas fall into this category, which is mainly for home consumption.

You might be wondering why they are facing this kind of stress, I will say, most of the people in this category believe in fresh foods and possibly organic foods, which we all know are very good for our health. You can also join them today.

Profit Purpose: The unemployment rate in Nigeria today is increasing every day. This is happening because we are having graduates produced every year and our job creation level is very low. Income generated from salary is no longer enough to take care of daily home expenses; savings are nothing to write home about.

They invested in farming to cover for all possible financial lapses that they might be facing, or possibly they are investing in their future, much like a retirement fund. If you fall into this category, you’ve really thought well, and I congratulate you on the great step you have taken.

Where To Start If You Have Never Farmed Before?  

Farming, as it’s been stated earlier, has been divided into two sections: cropping systems and livestock production. Decision-making is very important in every step one needs to take in life; this can’t be done without having guiding steps to take. All you need to do to "become a successful farmer" includes:

Step 1: Start If You Have Never Farmed Before

Your passion determines which aspect of life you truly belong in. you need to seek more advice on what you want to do base on the available resources, passion and motive. All agricultural practices and sector are profitable, be it family consumption or profit making.

Step 2: Reserve a Spot

No matter what part of farming you are planning to venture into, space is very important. It might be your backyard space, family land, or a rented portion of land. This will be the place to cultivate or raise your animals to success without any external negative effects until you are ready for further expansion.

Step 3: Locate a Source of Funding

Finance is the backbone of all the investments that I know. This can be done through loans, family support, or personal savings. If you are cultivating a land, you will need money to purchase all of the necessary materials, and livestock production requires money to purchase the animals and nurse them to term. Not having enough funds readily available might lead to a crisis when an emergency occur that need to be tackled immediately. Don't be deceived, issues might happen during farming. That's why we need to be prepared.

Step 4: Plan Your Farm's Success

As the adage says, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Planning requires you to have a business plan, which does not necessarily have to be a professional one, depending on how big your dreams are. For a farm to become great and successful, you need to target your breakeven time.

Step 5: Plan Your Marketing Channels

In any business, marketing is one of the most important parts of their planning. Getting farm produce to final consumers has to go through some channels: from the farm to marketers, to wholesalers, to retailers, and finally, to final consumers.

You are the determinant of your success. The aspects of farming are too broad to be covered all in just one article. Likewise, expect more articles on this blog that will draw on more personal experiences from my daily activities on the farm and also from some of my partners and seniors in this field. Feel free to add more of your experiences, questions, and views in the comment section.