Agribusiness

Agribusiness is the business of agricultural production. It includes agrichemicals, breeding, crop production (farming and contract farming), distribution, farm machinery, processing, and seed supply, as well as marketing and retail sales. All agents of the food and fibre value chain and those institutions that influence it are part of the agribusiness system. An agribusiness tends to be a large scale business operation and may dabble in farming, processing and manufacturing and or the packaging and distribution of products.

Farming is the act or process of working the ground, planting seeds, and growing edible plants or keeping animals by people for food and raw materials. Farming is a part of agriculture. In order to farm and have a sustainable farming system, the soil on which the seeds are sown plays a very vital role in every crop production.

Soil

The word ‘soil’ is derived from a Latin word, “Solum”, meaning ‘floor’. Soil is a complex system made up of mineral matter 45%, organic matter 5%, and soil water 25% and soil air 25%. Therefore, it contains not only the solid and liquid phases but also the gaseous phase.

Soil is a thin layer of earth’s crust which serves as a natural medium for the growth of plants. Soil is the unconsolidated mineral material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants. Soil is the unconsolidated mineral matter that has been subjected to, and influenced by genetic and environmental factors, parent material, climate, organisms and topography all acting over a period of time. Soil is a natural body, synthesized in profile form from a variable mixture of broken and weathered minerals and decaying organic matter which covers the earth in a thin layer and which supplies when containing the proper amounts of air and water, mechanical support and in part, sustenance for plans.

Functions of soil:

• Soil provides anchorage to root enabling plants to stand erect.
• It acts as a store house of water and nutrients for plant growth.
• It acts as an abode of flora and fauna which suitably transform nutrients for uptake by plant roots.
• It provides space for air and accretion which creates healthy environment for the biological activity of soil organisms.

Soils consist of 4 major components

• Solid phase: It is broadly composed of inorganic and organic constitutes and consist of soil material that is less than 2 mm in size. Soils having more than 20% of organic materials are arbitrarily designated organic soils. Where inorganic constituents dominate, they are called mineral soils. The humus and humus like fractions of the solid phase constitute the soil Organic Matter which is another soil component.
• Liquid phase:The soil acts as the reservoir for supplying water to plants for their growth. The soil water keeps salt in solution which act as plant nutrients. Thus, the liquid phase is an aqueous solution of salts, when water drains from soil pores are filled with air. A considerable part of the rain which falls on soil is absorbed by the soil and stored in it to be returned to the atmosphere by direct evaporation or by transpiration through plants.
• Gaseous phase:The air filled pores constitutes the gaseous phase of soil system and dependent on that of the liquid phase. This phase supplies O₂ and thereby prevents CO₂

The 3 phases of the soil system have definite roles to play. The solid phase provides mechanical support for and nutrients to the plants. The liquid phase supplies water and along with it dissolved nutrients to plant roots. The gaseous phase satisfies the aeration (O₂) need of plants.

Starting A New Farm

Farming offers a rewarding lifestyle and with the right skills and knowledge, growing food sustainably can provide a viable business opportunity. Farming involves a wide range of activities from hands-on work in the field, barn or greenhouse, to repairing equipment, solving problems, analysing production and sales data and more. Hence, there are factors to be considered when starting up a new farm. These factors include

Land- Finding land to purchase or lease is an important step in starting a new farm but can be difficult. It is also important to acquire land appropriate for the farm activity you are proposing. A land leasing workbook is available to guide potential lessors and lessees in developing a lease agreemen. Also, how large is the area of land to be used for production? Is it a commercial farming system? (that is large scale production) or a subsistence farming system? (that is a small scale production). These are to be noted.

Capital- This is another important factor that needs to be considered when starting up a new farm. Financial management is the backbone of any successful business. It starts with the development of a suitable financial information system. This will allow you to analyze the information and establish financial goals, which are required to set future performance benchmarks.  To obtain funding to finance a farm contact local banks and credit unions. Government funding may be available through a variety of programs.

Inputs- This involves the materials needed to be used in the farm and they include materials like fertilizers, chemicals, farm implements, etc.

Market- How near is your farm to the market? Proximity to market actually determines how quick the sales of your farm produce will be.

Accessibility- Good road networks is needs to be considered as it determines the mobility of the farm produce to the market. If roads are poor or inaccessible, farm produce might get damaged as longer period will be required to move the farm produce especially if it has to do with crops with low shelf life. Therefore, this is a huge factor to be considered so that you don’t get your produce wasted.

Storage facilities – This is another factor that needs to be considered so as to store farm produce after harvesting prior marketing.

When land required for farming production has been acquired, there are certain measures that needs to be put in place before cultivation of any kind of crops. This measures includes

Background history of the land- this involves the study the land to be used for the proposed crop production. You need to know what the land has been used for prior acquiring it. This at least will help you know if the land can be useful for any agricultural purpose.

Soil Sampling- Involves the following processes

• Sample each field separately. However, where the areas within a field differ distinctly in crop growth, appearance of the soils, or in elevation, or are known to have been cropped or fertilized and manured differently, divided the filed and sample each area separately.
• Take a composite sample from each area. Scrape away surface litter, then take a small sample from the surface to plough depth from a number of spots in the field (10 to 15 per acre). Collect these samples in a clean bucket or some such wide container.
• Where crops have been planted in lines (rows), sample between the lines.
• Take a uniform thick sample from the surface to plough depth. If a spade or a trowel is used, dig a v-shaped hole, then cut out a uniform thick slice of soil from bottom to top of the exposed soil face, collect the sample on the baled or in your hand and place it in the bucket.
• Pour the soil from the bucket on a piece of clean cloth or paper and mix thoroughly. The sample should be dried in the shade for an hour or two before it goes into the cloth bag container.
• Each cloth bag should be large enough to hold a pound or two of soil, and should be properly marked to identify the sample.
• Address the samples to the Soil Chemist, Soil Testing Laboratory.
• Keep a record of the areas sampled and a simple sketch map for reference when you get the soil test and fertilizers recommendation report from the soil testing laboratory.

Soil Sampling- Soil testing programme- The basic objective of the soil-testing programme is to give farmers a service leading to better and more economic use of fertilizers and better soil management practices for increasing agricultural production. The use of fertilizers without first testing the soil is like taking medicine without first consulting a physician to find out what is needed. Without a fertilizer recommendation based upon a soil test, a farmer may be applying too much of a little needed plant food element and too little of another element which is actually the principal factor limiting plant growth. This not only means an uneconomical use of fertilizers, but in some cases crop yields actually may be reduced because of use of the wrong kinds or amounts, or improper use of fertilizers.

Land Preparation- This involves the clearing of the land either manually or mechanically. Note that when land clearing is done mechanically, it should be done in such way that it does not severely affect the top soil. The top soil usually contains much more nutrients as it is rich in organic matter. Also, the use of heavy machines should be minimized to avoid compaction of the soil which can eventually results to soil degradation.

Fertilizer Recommendation- This is usually made based on the results obtained from soil test so as to determine the nutrient which is sufficient or deficient in the soil. A fertilizers recommendation from a soil testing laboratory is based on carefully conducted soil analyses and the results of up-to-date agronomic research on the crop, and it therefore is most scientific information available for fertilizing that crop in that field. Each recommendation based on a soil test takes into account the values obtained by these accurate analysis, the research work so far conducted on the crop in the particular soil areas, and the management practices of the concerned farmer.