When you speak to a person and find out that they are a farmer the first thing that might cross your mind might be that the person is wealthy has plenty of land and expensive equipment. Yes, in most cases this is true except the wealthy part of course as studies shown than only 10% of farmers succeed and make it to the top. Lets see why anyone can farm and be successful
The general rule for a new farmer is that it takes a 1000 days before they might start seeing profits. This means that the farmer should be dedicated and has to plan his financials carefully for the years upcoming but let’s dig into why we say anyone can farm.
You need plenty of land to farm – False
The biggest misconception is that a farmer needs plenty of land to farm. We have seen many successful farmers throughout the years that has less than a hectare and farmed their way to success. Vegetables and certain fruit can be farmed in less than a hectare and if you can get a contract at a supermarket or a restaurant you can farm just for them.
An good example will be getting a restaurant contract. If you decide to farm lettuce or tomatoes and sell it to a restaurant you will have an recurring client . Restaurants needs tomatoes and lettuce on a daily basis as they use it on burgers, in salads and for garnishing the plates.
Can you farm in your backyard?
Yes, backyard farming is not a common trend and is becoming very popular all over South Africa. With vegetable, eggs and meat prices increasing on a weekly scale this is surely something you should consider.
You can even farm with broiler chickens (Meat Chickens) as they do not require a lot of space and surprisingly they are not noisy creatures. Farming with backyard chickens can provide eggs and meat for your family and you can even sell to your neighbours to make some profits. Chickens reproduce fast and you can see your small chicken farming business doing very well.
Another example of profitable backyard farming would be granadillas, lemons and pomegranates. These fruits types has become insanely expensive and is sorted after in many supermarkets. Selling them is easy and the profits are huge.
How to start farming
Research is essential when you want to farm in your backyard. Make sure that you understand what your community needs and work around that. You don’t want to plant onions that takes up to 9 months to grow and get poor prices when you harvest them. Look for products that is in demand all year round like tomatoes and lettuce.
You also need to plan that when you sell do you want clients come to you or do you want to deliver. If you cannot afford to deliver then speak to a local supermarket or fruit and veg dealer – They will gladly collect fresh products from you.
As a backyard farmer you do not have to do a lot of advertising. Being a small business you can sell directly to neighbours, friends and family. The word will get out fast if you are selling quality fresh products at affordable prices. You can always advertise in your local social media groups that you have fresh produce and that is basically free advertising.
It is always a good idea to introduce backyard farming to young people. This will improve their general knowledge about the agricultural sector, sales skills and the value of creating fresh products
Read some of these articles to get more insight on how to start farming in your backyard and how to be profitable
- The Perfect Guide to Start Farming with Chickens
- 10 Ideas for Fast and Profitable Farming
- What can I do with my small piece of Land
- Stop Buying Potatoes and Farm your own
- How many Chickens do you need to start a Profit
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