A FEW LESSONS FROM A YOUNG FARMER

I got into farming purely by accident. I found myself unemployed with nothing to do and my mother suggested I manage her small holding where she had some people growing vegetables for her. Once I got the hang of it, I didn't look back. I fell in love with growing food and having fresh produce on my table. My appetite grew and I began to try to grow a variety of crops.

As with all things, it wasn't long before I found that like any other field, farming had its challenges. The people growing crops were stealing the majority of profits made and general management was poor. Although I didn't have shortage of ideas, I had a severe shortage of money. Secondly, I had an issue maintaining my workers.

The first challenge was quite critical. I desired to grow and growth required money. Searching for loans proved futile as the first thing that was asked for was collateral which I did not possess. I was a young lady who didn't own anything of real value. After exhausting all possible avenues to borrow money I gave up. I still continued to farm, but instead I tried to cut costs and increase my market base. I started selling some of my produce at retail price straight to the end user in addition to having the market sellers who came to order from me. Due to suppressed quantities, it was hard going.

A business in its first year usually does not make much of a profit. In my second year things improved and I even tried my hand at village chickens. This takes me back to my second challenge, unreliable workers. I found out early on that it is hard to train a worker and that I needed a lot of patience and skill to do this. Within the first two months, I parted ways with the people growing vegetables for my mother. I remember that my first worker left because he felt I was too demanding, the second one left because unfortunately I had to fire him. He came to work drunk often and felt justified to take long naps after I did my morning check and gave the days instructions. On top of that he hardly watered my plants and I lost time because I had to replant a crop of okra I had timed to reach market at a certain time. Timing is vital in farming and such negligence costs money.

When I began the village chickens things went well for the first 2 months. I got a cock and four hens and was going to multiply them naturally. They began to lay eggs and then mysteriously started being stolen. It was quite strange because at this time, I had 2 workers both who lived on the property and I resorted to locking the chickens up at night for safety. Before long I had only one cock and one hen and almost 30 spoilt eggs due to disturbance of chickens being stolen when hens began to incubate their eggs. It turned out the thefts were inside jobs and workers had to be relieved of their duties. Yet another set back.

Still I soldiered on and I'm in my fourth year of farming. No matter how many disappointments I experienced, there was something that kept increasing and that was knowledge. No one can take that from you. I had to rethink my whole business strategy because I could see that I needed to begin to make profit. I took a break and planned for months while interacting with other farmers. This was very helpful. I created clear goals and I am systematically working through them. Also, I now realise that you can't make quick money. You need to be patient and very disciplined to build a business that stands the test of time. With regards to funds, I decided loans were not for me, so I have explored organisations providing grants. I am still looking and I am sure shortly I will find something that will work for me.

In conclusion, I will say that perseverance is a quality every farmer must possess. Don't give up! Keep moving forward, keep trying and most importantly, keep learning.

Author: Mweendalubi Simamba ( Miss)