The Sunday Mail
Farmer’s Diary
Sheuneni Kurasha
I am grateful to many budding and aspiring farmers who have been in touch, expressing their desire to become successful farmers.
Let us continue in this spirit. Zimbabwe needs as many farmers in order to ensure food insecurity and a well-nourished population that contribute to economic development.
This week we tackle the business side of farming, that is, what does one need to consider in terms of the business model to follow, the specific farming activities to undertake and understanding the market and marketing dynamics.
It is important to understand that farming is a business like any other and as such, one needs to be clear from the outset on the model of farming they wish to pursue. The models range from small scale farming, medium-scale farming to large-scale commercial farming.
Given that farming is capital intensive, often requiring considerable amount of money to start, it is always advisable for budding farmers to start on a small-scale and grow in the business. This is the best option for most farmers who are self-financing.
There are various farming activities that require small capital to start, such as rearing small livestock like goats and sheep.
The advantage with small livestock like goats and sheep is that, whereas goats are largely browsers, sheep are grazers and one can therefore, easily rear them together.
Small livestock also don’t require large pieces of land when compared to cattle for instance. Not only are small livestock a valuable source of nutrition and food security for most rural families but are a source of the much income if well managed. Even for a commercial farmer, sales from goats and sheep can finance running costs such as labour and animal medicine.
Starting small allows one the opportunity to experiment on a micro scale first before expanding to commercial level. I have interacted with many established farmers who started with as little as five indigenous goats and expanded after they had acquired the necessary skills and experience.
The same applies for crop farming, before one plants hectares of cabbages, it is advisable to start with a smaller area, draw lessons and use that to grow.
To succeed as a farmer, it is important that you identify your niche. Farming activities are very broad, ranging from livestock to cropping.
If you choose to pursue livestock farming, you should decide if you will to focus on producing breeding stock for fellow farmers (stud breeding) or commercial for meat and by-products.
If you choose to pursue cattle ranching, you will need to know the various breeds that are available and their advantages and disadvantages in order to assess their suitability to your farming area and business model. Same applies with crop production, it is important to decide on the type of crops to focus on, whether food crops, feed crops, oil crops or a mix of them.
When we wanted to start cattle ranching years back, we had to decide the breed that was best suited for our farming region considering the market and profitability. Although were not quite familiar with it at the time, we settled for the Boran on account of its impeccable attributes.
From our research findings we learnt that the Boran had unique genetic composition that makes it the best choice for cross-breeding, longevity, high fertility rate, high calving rate, early maturity, disease resistance, high food conversion rate and high quality carcasses.
Understanding the market is also very crucial to farmers. Before you venture and commit resources, one should have a clear understating of the market and marketing dynamics: who is going to buy your farm produce, where are you going to sell these products and how are you going to do that and the levels of competition that you are likely to face. This is why market research is a must for every farmer.
Farmers must invest time to learn more about their customers, understand the market better, identify existing market gaps and position themselves to reach that market.
For instance, a dairy industry expert was recently quoted saying that Zimbabwe’s annual demand for milk stood at about 120 million litres against the current national production level of 65 million litres.
That leaves a gap of 55 million litres annually.
This gap represents an immediate opportunity for farmers who want to venture into dairy farming.
Farmers must also make use of local offices of the relevant Government departments to get current data and information regarding the farming activity of interest, including any regulations and licences.
Based on the number of inquiries I have been getting, next week we will focus on goat farming.
“Paswera badza hapanyepi” (results of a noble effort always speak for themselves).
Let’s enjoy farming.
Sheuneni Kurasha is a farmer specialising in stud breeding in boran cattle, boer goats and damara sheep, as well as dairy farming. For feedback, kindly get in touch on email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +263 772 874 523.
