Starting and Managing your own Agric production Enterprise

Starting and managing your own agricultural production consist of some important fact we need to know. In starting your own agric business one need to develop the mustard seed concept, thereby not forsaking little beginnings, for life itself is made of small things and even the greatest nations are made up of successful small/medium scale enterprise. more so as the largest forest developed from a seed.

BUSINESS PLANNING: when there is a business plan management decision will be based on objective and not subjective. without a concise plan there are every likelihood of negative distraction and the enterprise direction is forsaken. with a plan one will identify quickly areas of the enterprise not under control.

CONTENT OF A BUSINESS PLAN:

Analyzing the potentials of the enterprise to succeed:

* Market survey /strategy

* Sustain ability of the enterprise

Knowledge of the business:

* Necessary information on technical know-how in chosen venture

* Information on competitors and strategy of entrance into the terrain

* Plans of breaking,creating new market strategy

* Innovations

Business structure:

* Sole proprietorship (one man)

* Partnership

* Ltd liability etc

Business Location

* Choice of site (advantages and disadvantage)

Records: One of the main draw backs on any agric production is a lack of deliberately kept economic records of farm operations.. Investors who operate without records are likely to make wrong decisions due to lack of information of what is happening in their farms..

WHAT IS A RECORD:

Record is information that has been systematically and carefully collected and appropriately stored for intended use.. To be able to run any business successfully, carefully thought out, properly collected and kept records are a must.. 

For the purpose of keeping track and decision making in any business, a comprehensive and well kept records must be kept.. A proper collected and kept records are IMPORTANT in fish farming..

Keeping records will:

1.Be used in determining profitability..just because you made sales and you have money in your pocket doesn't mean u make profit, this is why keeping record is important..

2. Be used to compare the efficiency of use of inputs such as land, labor, and capital with production activities..

3.Help the investors in improving the efficiency of farms operations..

4.Be used to preserve institutional memory of the farm for future reference.

Good record will for example;

1.Be used in projection of expected production..

2.Be useful in determining the amount of inputs requirements for specific ponds at various stages of production..

3.Be useful in determining the expected harvest time..

4. Determine the financial health of the farm..

SOME IMPORTANT FISH FARM RECORDS INCLUDE:

1. Capital investment costs e.g cost of constructing ponds, hatchery etc.. 

2.Individual pond treatment

3.Stocking densities and time of stocking.

4.Species stocked

5. Quantities and cost of input..

6. Daily occurrences.

 
7.Income record/sales

8. Profit records

9. Losses/damages records

10. Inventory records

Classification of fish farm records

AQUACULTURE RECORDS

Daily records kept for input usage like feeds, labour and daily occurrence
Occasional record which are kept for events that do not happen on daily basis. Such records would include:

*Specific pond production (Quantity and values) by species

*Costs of acquisition of inputs

*Cost incurred in new constructions or repairs

*Salaries (both in cash and in kind)

*Level of record keeping

How much and how comprehensive kept records are, is dependent on:

Level of investment; Complex investments require complex records
Motivation of investor; Serious investors will have more comprehensive records

Level of fish farm  management: Intensive operations will have more complex records as compared to semi intensive operations
Skills of the investor (Or manager); Well trained managers will keep better records

As the management levels rises, culture systems become more complex and so is the record keeping. This is the reason the farmer must think very carefully of what he needs to record.

Examples of aquaculture records:

Fish farming biological management records
Financial management records include:

    *Purchase of inputs

    *Sales records

    *Salary records

    *Inventory of equipment

    *Records on payment of rents and hire of equipment, machinery, services etc

Occurrence book
It is very important for individual farmers to clearly know what they need recorded and the intended use of this. This will assist them in preparing the most effective way of capturing the needed information.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROBLEMS IN BUSINESS

* There are great potentials in every problems/challenges in business

* successful enterprise requires solving problems/accepting challenges in the business

Steps to solving problems in business:

* Identify the root course of the problem

* What is not perfect in the problem

*Then proffer solution

*Foresee future problems eg two years ahead