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Choosing a Crop to Grow: Tomato Enterprise Budget

Our discussion continues…

“I think we should talk about the hybrid varieties not tengeru," she suggested.

"That's OK madam we can do that," I replied.

"Let’s focus on budgeting for you to prepare yourself and see how much you need. We will do our budget in a field of 1 Lima (50m × 50m).

We will do a spacing of 1.5m from one line to the other and 0.5m from 1 plant to another. So in one line of 50m we will have 100 plants (2 plants/metre) and we will have 33 lines (50 metres divide it by 1.5 metres from one line to another). So in a Lima we will have 100 × 33 = 3, 300 plants. Ok hope you are following."

"Now the second stage is to know the cost of a seedling per plant. Let us put a plant at K2 each. 3, 300 x K2 = K6, 600.

You have prepared your land and planted. Give a space of 4 days then thereafter apply your basal-dressing at 15 grams per plant. So you need 50kg as basal in 3, 300 plants. Apply top-dressing in the intervals of 14 days at 5 grams or 7.5 grams. Let us settle for 5 grams per plant. You need 16.5kg every application or 33kg but companies package them in either 10, 25, or 50kg. So in 10 months you will need 35kg by 10 = 350kg.

Remember to keep records in your projects it helps to break even. You will need 6 litres of insecticides and don't buy one type. In case you are wondering about 6 litres, approximately there are 30 sprayers of 16 litres in 1 litre of fungicide at 30 mills per sprayer and depending on the stage of your tomatoes you need 5 sprayers in your Lima. Apply insecticides every week. You have 6 applications in 1 bottle. You will grow your Tomatoes for 40 weeks. 6 litres will be enough for 36 weeks that's ok anyway. Buy different types of insecticides to avoid resistance.

Then you will also need 6kg of fungicides. Buy different types of fungicides to avoid resistance for diseases. Most fungicides are mixed 30 to 50 grams in a 16 litres sprayer so 6kg can do in an interval of 7 days.

We are done!

Ooh I forgot the boosters. Boosters (foliar fertilizer) contain many trace elements which may not be present in the soil. You need 6 kgs of boosters in form of starter, grower and fruit. Spray your boosters at the interval of 14 days at 150 to 300 grams. Let's put the pricing now and these just approximations on average.

  • 3, 300 plants x K2 = K6, 600
  • 50kg veg mix basal = K500
  • 7 x 50kg veg top-dressing at K500 each = K3500
  • 6 x 1 litre insecticide at K200 each = K1200
  • 6 x 1kg fungicides at K150 each = K900
  • 6 x 1kg boosters at K100 each = K600

We won’t put labour, irrigation costs, workers’ salaries, market and transport. That is up to you to put. I am only giving you ‘the production budget.’

Total expenses = K13, 300.

Note: Theoretically 1 plant will give you one box of tomatoes. We have farmers who have achieved more that but I won’t stress you to achieve that instead we will put it that 2 plants will give you a box in its life span (7 months harvesting). We will also put 1 box at an average of K150. So 3, 300 plants will give you 1, 650 boxes after 7 months of harvesting. That means on average you will be harvesting 235 boxes per month that translate to 58 boxes per week.

You will be making 58 boxes x K150 = K8, 700 per week, K34, 800 per month and K243, 600 per growing season. K243, 600(total sales) - K13, 300 (expenses) = K230, 300 (profit). Pay yourself per month in 10 months (7 months production and 3 months growing period) = K23, 030. I leave it up to you to decide."

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