THE POWER OF MECHANISED FARMING

One of the challenges faced with agriculture in a Nation like this, is the attitude to which the activity is being carried out. Most of our farming methods are still crude and old. Recently I was faced with developing over 11 acres of prime plot I was given for agricultural purpose and the reality began to dawn on me the need for making agriculture a real business and not a means of survival.

Right from the onset to invest in agriculture, you will need to envisage the point where you would have to choose between reality and mediocrity. It takes a whole lot of business model and strategy to make any agricultural venture really viable. The era of hoe and cutlass is long gone. To make it a source of regular income however little, then it has to be done the appropriate way as a business model.

As much as there has been so much euphoria in the agricultural sector, until it is being handled as a true business model, it still could be a far cry from real income generation. The policies are actually getting its ground and been implemented and also creating a huge awareness, yet it needs to translate into direct income first and trickle down to its value chain.

Oh yes it still could be done manually, but then it would cost a whole lot more, even if the labour is cheap. As cheap as the labour may seem, time in any business is of essence. A good look at turnover in business in relation to time, you get to understand why agricultural mechanism is still the best of options.
It costs us close to $402 (N80,000) to get just 3 acres and 2 plots cleared in about 2 weeks, which would invariable had cost me $40 for diesel and $15 for driver(labourer) if we had the mini-walking tractor to use in just 2 days. The cultivated crop on the piece of farm land is maize. A close look at our project seed plant and harvest without considering bad harvest, then profitability is already on the slide even before growth or harvest is achieved. These are the realities of going into big time farming, mechanised at that.

Most definitely there still would be some gains when manual labour is applied, a cheap one at that but then how do you account for time spent in doing laborious work that should have been done by a tractor. I encourage everyone in  diaspora and investors alike to have a medium range and long range view on agri-business in this economy. It's profitability far outweighs its disadvantages, I would be more than glad to assist you in your agricultural venture.