How to Start a Farm: 9 Steps to Farming Success

Planning your farm will help you get started, and define where you will end up. So you've decided you want to farm (congratulations!). But what do you grow? What are the conditions you have to work with (such as soil/ location/ water) and what resources are you able to invest?

1. Do your homework:

Attend farmer workshops, conferences and visit the market to see what is in demand and the prices. Keep a notebook to track your findings. Read magazines or any materials related to farming, join farming groups on social media and obviously stick to this like page LOL. Talk with established farmers in your area, they will usually have plenty of experience. You should really consider working on someone else's farm for a season or two. You will gain valuable skills and experience. Nothing prepares you better to farm than experience does.

2. Draft a plan and set farm goals:

Goal setting is important in every aspect of farming. Since farming is a business, it needs a vision and plan on how to attain that vision. Most farmers in Africa find that they only have 2 to 3 months (winter) to plan for the next growing season. The farmer needs to set up a plan on target income and work backwards from there. By this I mean, you do some market research to find out which crops the market needs and at what price you can produce versus the average price on the market. This will help the farmer to work out the expected profit per year. Growing food requires good timing and attention to detail.

3. Map out your farm:

The next step is to map out the farm. This will help in crop rotation and in ensuring that the farm is being utilised to its full potential. Have your map drawn in a basic notebook, this map will guide in determining soil types of each field and in planning for what, when and where next crops need to be sown on a particular field.

4. Draft a simple budget:

It's helpful to have a budget for what your farm is going to cost. You will need to invest things like seeds, farming tools, water and an alternative energy solution for powering your farm when the power goes out.

5. Raise funds:

Can you borrow or get a bank loan? Have you saved up enough to get started? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself.

6. Look for land:

You don't need to own land to farm. You could look into leasing land from farmers with excess land. You could also consider growing food in your rural village.

7. Source supplies:

Get your seeds. Visit a farm supply store or research centre to purchase your seed.

8. Get growing:

Get started with quick and easy crops like peas, beans, and tomatoes and learn what it's like to be in production. This will help you build relationships, and also your confidence.

9. Keep records:

This is very important because in farming there are so many ‘miscellaneous’ expenses and if they are not monitored, you will soon find himself in the red. Most farmers I have met are just like me when it comes to record keeping - haphazard and inconsistent. Unfortunately, it is one of those things that must be done. The good news is that once you have a system it is easy to just add numbers and it easy to track expenses and income to determine the success of your farm. There is no ‘best’ way to do this, the important thing is to do it as simply and clearly as you can. My first accounting book was just a notebook with a line in the middle where I wrote every expense on one side and income on the right-hand side.

Ask for a receipt every time you purchase anything for the farm, then make sure that you reconcile all receipts at the end of the month. This step is important for the African farmer because there are many businesses that sell farming resources but do not have receipts! If you are computer literate, which I assume you are since you found this website, then there are countless apps and websites that you can use to keep all your farm records.

Examples of records every farmer should have; income, expenses, assets, fertiliser/pesticides usage, wages, etc.

Have fun!

Author bio:

Kundai is the co-founder and co-editor of Emerging Farmer. She is an emerging farmer and entrepreneur. She grows, processes and distributes mushrooms and vegetables and raises pigs on her family's farm.