Part-time farmers often have to make tough decisions regarding their farming enterprises.
The farming mode or type, location of the farm or village and most importantly the choice of human resources that drive operations in your absence are the main worries that bring you sleepless nights.
Many farmers have given up and abandoned their dreams of ever making it in farming circles because of these challenges. Well, I am not the one to tell you it’s OK and that everything will be alright. No. It’s an uphill battle that would most probably get harder the higher or further along the path you go. But, brace yourself for it.
Percieved challenges
What I can tell you, however, is that it’s a battle that can be won. With the right tools, determination and conviction, you could shred those perceived challenges to pieces and remain the last man standing at the end of it all. Let’s break it down. The major concern is the distance one must travel to the village to inspect work done and evaluate the overall progress of farming activities. With the rising cost of fuel and the frequent wear and tear on your vehicle, which may need money to fix, travelling frequently will not work.
Use technology
Be innovative and use technology to the fullest. Have frequent scheduled WhatsApp meetings with your workers on the farm and be updated on progress.
Have clear deliverables, targets and deadlines set for certain tasks on the farm. Often when we employ someone, we do not give them an agreed upon job description. We simply say such person is responsible for ‘work around the farm’. This is too vague and loose.
Farming a business
Set clear tasks and track such progress meticulously. Don’t compromise if they are not reached. It’s a farming business, not a charity organisation.
If your employees find it hard to deliver, assist them as much as you can through mentoring. But if the situation does not change, it’s time to cut your losses and weed out dead plants from your garden. There is no point attempting to go faster in the wrong direction for chances are you might never recoup the time, money and effort lost in ‘trying to make it work’.
Lower expectations
If you are a part-time farmer, lower your expectations. I need to say that again for clarity’ lower your expectations, but remain true to your targets. Simply put, don’t expect a chicken to lay an egg each day – even if it’s possible.
If you do that, and the chicken does not meet your expectations, you would be saying the business is failing, which may not be the case. Keeping your expectations low, while still making sure your targets are met prevents undue pressure on you and your enterprise.
Also, benchmark your farming progress against established farmers in your area, but never compare their progress with yours. This might sound like simple semantics, or tricks to the untrained ear, but there is a vast difference between these two words. The dangers you face when comparing things is that you do it according to the look, feel and appearance of products on an item by item basis.
Apples and pears
This is dangerous for two reasons. You might be comparing apples and pears; where the person you are comparing your products with is light years ahead of you. Or, you might be undervaluing your agribusiness by comparing it to that of someone who is way behind you in performance in the sector. Bench marking, where you set targets based on where you want to be in a certain time frame – using another farmer as an inspiration and mentor – is more likely to take you far.
We will dwell a bit more on this in future editions of this column.