FARMING, BENEFITS OF STARTING SMALL

Concerning commercial agriculture, we mostly want to start big, make it big in little time and in the process we keep wasting so much time waiting for huge capital

which might not be readily available or assessable. Start small, the statement really sounds minimalistic because most people have the idea of doing and going big and this is the problem with most prospective agricultural entrepreneurs which is tantamount to not achieving anything or stating anything at all at the long run.

Why really not starting small and keep expanding as time goes on, evaluate one of your million dollar agricultural ideas and think about a way of staring small with the little resources available, as a matter of fact starting agriculture small comes with a whole lot of advantages because agribusiness is highly risky if not well planned and carried out. Imagine starting big with loan or something and for everything to go bad in short time, one might be discouraged. Although it is widely accepted and preached that we should never be scared of failure but agriculture might come with a lot of surprises.

However, in my humble opinion, if one want to build a habit or do something for the long term, starting small is the right approach. Here are some of the advantages or benefits of starting farming small:

• No unnecessary debt incurred: starting small requires little capital, so no need in running into any unnecessary debt. Loan is not required as one can start with personal earnings.
• It requires less time and energy: starting big really takes much time and energy but when resistance is high and productivity is not coming up well, one might tend to give up and fail but starting small really takes less time and energy and as it keeps progressing one would have familiarized with the system, it also yield less resistance, so one will keep on going.
• It prevent overwhelming and paralysis: it’s really very easy to handle tasks, not much work that what one can handle at a time thereby preventing overwhelming and paralysis.
• It presents enough time to gain more knowledge and experiences then master the trade: agriculture production comes with a lot of processes and tasks which requires some knowledge and know-how which one can gather from experiences over the period of starting small which will definitely come handy in time of expansion.
• It presents time for market evaluation: since the major objective of commercial agriculture is to sell the products, so one will need time to discover market outlets and processes such as getting to know where to sell to and their demand which might be needed for consideration in time of expansion.
• It grows confidence and builds momentum: in starting small, as times goes one will keep gaining confidence and momentum, as one keep getting results and making profits as small as it might be, the drive to keep getting more and going for more will keep coming. A saying goes thus “the more you succeed, the more you want to succeed.
• It lowers your risks in case of failure: no one will want to fail in business but agriculture comes with a lot of risks, starting small affords one time to test the product or processes in the available market. Even if it fails or problems arises, one won’t incur big loss.
• It is the first step: an adage goes thus “the journey of a thousand mile begins with one step”. Thinking big is really not bad but if one really want to start at all, starting small is the best idea.

In conclusion. I hope this article gives you enough and clear reasons to start small, one step before the other, as time goes on with a good start, persistence, tenacity and endurance. Sky is not the limit but a stepping stone. Good luck!