HOW TO RUN YOUR FARM TO PROFIT FROM ANY CORNER OF THE GLOBE.

This newsletter addresses the concerns of an absentee farmer.

Absentee farmers are defined as a group of individuals that are passionate about agriculture, have a vision about it, willing to make a profit from it but are not available to run the farm daily or bi–weekly due to distance from the farm, pre-occupation with another job/ project, based in another country or undergoing a health challenge.

THINGS NEEDED TO RUN YOUR FARM

1. Clear vision: An absentee farmer must have a clear vision of what he wants. Vision must be well articulated and must be run by professionals in his field of interest to confirm viability. A feasibility study of an idea can be done by anyone but investors and absentee farmers must look for professionals with field experience and business development flair.

2. Training and understudying: An absentee farmer must have a clear understanding of the operation process of his ideas. He must be willing to take courses and go on field trips to better understand his interest. Even after a farm has been established, he must be willing to learn and take field trips to broaden his horizon and expand, tailor-fit his ideas. Try and take a business course as well.

3. Hiring professionals and a passionate loyal team; as much as loyalty to an employee or an organization cannot be determined in a day, look for people that are loyal to a cause that you are interested in. Hire people that are passionate about agriculture and let them be part of your process so they can feel like they are part of your organization.

4. Do your personal SWOT analysis: Evaluate your own personal strength, weaknesses, opportunity, and THREATS. Know to what extent you can pursue your dreams, and understand the obstacles/challenges ahead so you can adequately prepare for them.

5. Have a solid support team: tell your vision to the people in your close circle. Let them understand how important this is to you. They can assist in recommending people, providing financial and moral support as you go through the entire process.

6. Get the right stock/ suppliers: use accredited and loyal sources to get all the stock and supplies you will need. Learn to find the right people by never being in a hurry, and evaluate suppliers based on trust and creditworthiness.

7. Enjoy the planning process and develop your intuition: be meticulous about planning, don’t rush it, and get more connected with your instinct. Your mind is on your business and can pick up signals when things are not going well, don’t ignore it.

8. Be there during key processes so you know where everything is: plan availability to the timing of key processes like construction, delivery of stock, hiring of team members, visiting suppliers, and when installing a surveillance system.

9. Have a monitoring team: this team can go to your project impromptu and give you real-life feeds. Hire a professional who knows what to look out for and who is passionate about your business. Also, install CCTV cameras and solar panels in open and hidden places.

10. Timing: Don’t be in a rush and don’t be discouraged. Know that businesses have their own timelines to solidify depending on the industry and it will grow as you grow by exposure to knowledge and experience.

11. Automate some processes: As much as you can make some of the processes easier. Use a central recording system, technology like automated pens, and feeders as you grow.

12. Start small: This will help you institutionalize processes, and build a reinforcement system to make sure that a standard of operations is established before you expand. Systematically scale up. This duration can be from 1-5 years. Don’t be in a hurry to build a lifetime business, focus on learning with the process.

Finally, keep your passion alive by staying up to date with trends, going on field trips to successful farm establishments, getting more connections, and joining associations or groups.?