Until farming is seeing as a viable business model and actually carried out same way, it may still be a far cry from profitability. It is important to understand that just like any other business, farming can also be involved in form of venture funding or forming of partnership and co-operatives.
It is sad however that the form of co-operative that operates is just for the sake of getting financial lease and other materials and some extension services and that's all.The need for in-debt financial cash flow and holistic modules of operation for various planting and harvesting season is lack and this is one of the causes of the lack of viability in the sector.
I encourage you to do a complete budget and forecast for your farming venture and see every thing in black and white. Make the figures talk, this would give you a true picture of a possible outcome of the venture after the first and second plant and harvesting seasons.
A few of us some months back came together and decided to set up a joint farming venture as a complete business model and for sustainability, income generation and profitability. This is the bedrock of our starting the farming business. We are yet to plant the first crop let alone clear the entire hectares of land, but we have put every paper work in place. This has clearly given us a practical true picture of where we are going and how to get there.
The beauty about feasibility and cash flow patterns is that, it clearly revealed to us the losses we would incur in the first harvesting period and still sustain the business from the income. We could clearly see how long it would take us to pay back our initial capital and live on the rest to sustain the farm activities.
I was more concerned on the cost overhead and production cost, as profit is all about increasing sales and cutting cost yet not compromising quality. Even though on paper this could be achieved, circumstances could warrant a deviation as the farming practice goes on, but at least there was a road map which would help to make decisions easy as we ago along.
