Seed Variety, Determines Yield

Selection of the right seed variety is most determining factor for a farmer to make good returns in his investment. You should make the right decision from the beginning because once you put that seed in the ground there will be no turning back until its maturity.

PANNAR seed has invested heavily in research and development of the best hybrid seeds. They have done so with the farmers’ needs on their minds all the time, with the aim of not only developing competent seeds which can withstand the hardships of the weather changing patterns but increase yields. Increasing yields will not only increase revenue but make farming more sustainable and worth pursuing.

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Farm Management: Controlling Input Costs

Almost everything we buy today is affected by rising prices. Many of them we can do nothing about, but the question we must ask ourselves is, “What can I do on my farm to control increasing costs?”

Input (production) costs are a fact of life for every farmer, so the best course of action is to see what can be done to minimise their impact on your farming operations and ultimately on the bottom line (profits).

In this article I’ve divided input costs into 2 sections:

• Costs you cannot control.
• Costs you can control.

Every farm will have its own challenges and ways to handle them, but a few general pointers should also help.

Under the heading of “fuel”, I talk about servicing and maintenance. A good operator on the right machine, that is well-maintained and serviced, doing the right job, is an investment. The opposite to that is, of course, a cost.

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How Syngenta has Made Me Succeed as a Farmer

Noah Kadima, a respected ‘agri-preneur’ shares the story of his progress under The Good Growth Plan.

About 13 years ago, Noah Kadima was trying to get started as a farmer, keen to try out the various promising farm inputs available on the market. Today, with trial and error and experience under his belt, Mr Kadima has become a respected farmer and ‘agri-preneur’ among his network, thanks to Facebook, and beyond.

In fact, Kadima has recently launched the Africa Farmers Club to offer fellow farmers guidance and advice on how to manage their crops and their farms. Through the club and his collaboration with agricultural company Syngenta, Mr Kadima is giving farming a new definition as a profitable business.

Kadima is part of Syngenta’s sustainable initiative called The Good Growth Plan (GGP), which provides guidance to farmers on good agriculture practices. The aim is to promote more efficient and more sustainable farming to increase land productivity and resilience. “Three years into farming and the challenges were so real. I started off so excited. I really wanted to get into this farming business. But at the same time getting information on how to go about it was a challenge,” Mr Kadima recalls.

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Mechanisation: Minimising Your Costs

Properly maintained, a good secondhand tractor will give its new owner years of service. Have big-ticket used machinery checked by someone competent to spot problems and ask the right questions. Once the tractor is yours make daily checks part of the routine operating procedure for the operator.

It is both difficult and unwise to cut corners if you have to plant high-quality seed and make sure they receive proper irrigation. But mechanisation costs are often unnecessarily high and looking at these again could result in lower input costs and higher profits.

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