selah wrote:@Kenmac I Agree with you actually many farmers were 'burnt' last year due to over supply of the product and some were overheard saying this season they will venture into something else it seems they actually made good their threats.
The problem is timing and proper marketing strategies.Most farmers tend to work on guess work in that since there is a shortage now, the price of the commodity will tempt most of them to plant once they all plant,few months down the line they will flood the market hence fail to get good return for their effort.
@selah- agriculture biashara is generally tricky. I have burnt my fingers twice (the first time the burns fikad my elbows!).
In 2005 I tried growing flowers under contract from wilmar flowers. My aunt had tried it the previous season and they had done so well. So I leased an acre next to a river bought a generator, irrigation system etc. Sunk like 150 k in the whole project. Then some disease checked in. I spent so much on pesticides. Even tried making our own pesticide from a mixture of some tree leaves. When they matured the prices were rock bottom. And the grading was equally ouch! I think I only got 15k from the whole deal. There were times that the guys who had contracted us failed to appear leading to bad losses.
I later tried tomatoes (eden f1 but the prices were 10 bob a kg when they hit the market. That was like one tomato at 1.50! But the harvest was good! So despite the pricing we still did not make bad losses as we sold some in Nai where prices were better. I however gave up coz it really needs your presence and my job did not allow me. But my lessons were learnt!
1. Market. Market. Market! Don't grow any fast perishable produce unless you know where to take it! Otherwise you will know all the middle men by their middle names! Painful selling at a loss only for the middle man to sell at over double the price. I would still think of flowers if I would link up with wedding planners etc and sell to them.
2. Start small. Learn the market. The business. Get a few regular clients then grow over time. Most still stick with you even it times of over supply lakini pia usiwafinye sana when prices shoot up. Look around you. Many successful businesses start small and grow slowly. Don't over commit your finances to start big.
3. Stagger the planting. Don't plant an acre of tomatoes. Plant an eighth then after a month or 2 another eighth or quarter. That's unless you plant green house plants like Anna f1 which produce through out.
4. Talk to those mamaz selling them. They will almost always know when the stuff is most pricey. You will be surprised at how regular the cycles tend to be.
5. Don't buy a vehicle to transport your produce unless you need one. Either link up with other farmers to hire or org with lorry or mat guys if producing on small scale. You need lots of tomatoes to fill up a pick up considering you will harvest twice a week at most.
6. Once again. Only plant when assured of a regular market. That will make or break you. If not sure... Try doing it on a small scale. Learn from there and decide whether it works out for you. Try satisfying the local demand before trying out markets in Nai. The profits increase but so do the variables. Most brokers praise the business. If it was too profitable then they would do the planting themselves! Sorry if I have been biased towards tomatoes. Just my experience shared.