Thread by @mentorshipzim

In the spirit of #ZimAgricRising I would want to talk about managing finances in the Agri Business Sector. For all those that want to take up agriculture please treat it as a business because it is. You are growing crops so that you can sell the produce or value-added products.

https://twitter.com/mentorshipzim/status/1364424475756941312

You are rearing livestock and poultry so that you can sell the produce or value-added products. You are in it to make money and therefore so it needs to be managed well. So like any other business there will be the production, sales and marketing and of course the finance.

When you grow you will be able to hire full time employees who run these departments for you, but since most of us are starting small we are going to have to do some of these things ourselves and hire experts here and there.

Since I am also into farming and also a finance person I am going to tackle the finance part. Before you do your project, do a thorough research and come up with a proper budget or estimate.

You want to know how much it will cost you and how much income you are going to receive so that you can assess the profitability. My assumption here is that you have thoroughly researched the market.

In addition to experts and those who have experience, Google, excel or the little black book like mine should be your friends. When making cost estimates you have to be thorough and estimate for every requirement, no short cuts. You must also have insurance as a farmer.

Now that you have come up with the costs that are needed, you have to ask yourself if you have double that amount or can have access to more because things may not work out as you had planned and you may learn the hard way like I did when I farmed the first time around.

To decrease such mistakes you might also consider hiring an agri expert. That is if you can afford one.

What to do when you see that you do not have enough for your project? Reach out to angel investors around you like friends, family. People are usually willing to help you if you see organized and have done thorough research.

Be on the lookout for loans that are available and don’t be political about it, there is no harm in trying. You can also start out with a group of friends. It does not have to be big but you can start little.

You can also save for your farming project, you can forgo some of the pizza and save for example $20 per month by the end of the year you have $240 which is enough for growing an acre of various crops.

The other way you can do it is by buying your inputs bit by bit if you are afraid that you can spend the money on other things. You have to be positive about it and stay focused on your goal.

Accounting for your expenses is very important. I write down each and every cost that I incur with regards to my farming endeavors including toll gates for my farm trips.

This will give me the actual cost of doing the project and I can then compare with my initial estimate so that I can see where I over or under estimated. And also I can reflect on areas I can improve and where I am going with this farming business.

Also look at farming as a long term investment, I know many might be tempted to buy a lot of nice to haves with their profits and forget that there is a future. This is a business and it has to grow and become an empire.

Also always look at ways of how you can increase your agri-business income. There are many ways like looking at exports, value addition etc.

You need to be always looking at ways to reduce costs so that your farming venture is profitable. So for example you need to cut costs on tractor hire so you should be looking at reinvesting your money to buying a tractor.

Cheers to all the future and current agripreneurs out there. If we manage our agri-business finances very well we will grow and succeed. @babatafi @basera_john @terrymap1 @NomalisoN @begottensun @Dudu_Nyirongo @ndakaripa @bvumie