Udemezue John
Introduction.
One business that has been given to humanity right from creation is the art of agriculture.
During my early days in high school, when I used to offer agriculture as a subject in my first topic, we were told of the history of Agriculture as an occupation of the first men.
In one story, we were told that the early men were wanderers and all they did was scavenge for uncooked meat; I was told that agriculture started when they would discard any seed they got from any crop they had eaten and leave the place to scavenge for things to eat and after a very long time they would return to that same spot and discover that it had become a replica of the entire tree that they plucked the first seed from.
That was basically how agriculture started, and you see what an exciting story. Aside from the fact that agriculture is overlooked and underrated that even the information age born child hates to hear about it as a subject left alone study it, this does not mean that it is entirely useless.
One of the essential needs of humankind is food, so let me tell you, agriculture is a perfect business because, without food, no man can stay alive, so if you are seeking a stable income business, then it’s time to dive into agriculture.
What is Agriculture ?.
Agriculture is the science and the art of plant and livestock raising. Agriculture was a crucial development in the growth of sedentary human civilization, through which domesticated farming species created food surpluses that allowed people to live in cities.
Why Should You Start an Agriculture Business?
With the above-stated facts, I must understand that you are still thinking about why you should invest mainly in agriculture.
I decided to explain further, or else you might just be missing out.
Here are a few reasons why you should invest in agriculture.
1. Agribusiness Is Very Scalable. So you Can Start With What You Have.
2. The agricultural sector is a considerable Job creator.
If you’re looking to start a business or invest in an industry that makes a significant social impact, provides jobs, and creates sustainable wealth, agribusiness is undoubtedly the way.
3. Africa Has Abundant And Cheap Agricultural Land.
According to the World Bank, sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly 50% of the world’s fertile, accessible and uncultivated agricultural land.
The area is over 200 million hectares. That is why the continent is now widely regarded as the future breadbasket of the world. This vast abundance of land resources gives Africa the strategic potential to feed the world.
How To Start An Agriculture Business.
Now from the forms mentioned above, Agriculture, I hope you are beginning to understand where I am coming from.
Now, how do I start an Agriculture business?
1. Choose or practice a single form of agriculture.
There are over seven forms of agriculture, but you have to decide on which one to venture in; you can choose to do both, but I highly recommend you start with one so that you can learn and understand how the whole process works because this can help you analyze and optimize.
Now I must assume that you are ready to start an agricultural business, but you must keep in mind that there are various forms of agriculture; it’s left for you to decide which one you want.
1. crop farming.
Crop farming can refer to a business or enterprise in which agri-entrepreneur ventures in the commercial production of crops.
2. Livestock Farming.
Livestock Farming is an agricultural setting to produce labour and commodities such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool.
3. Fish Farming.
Fish farming or fish farming involves fishing commercially in tanks or enclosures, such as fish ponds, typically for food purposes.
4. Horticulture.
Horticulture is the production of flowers, fruit and vegetables, and ornamental and fancy plants.
5. Heliculture.
Heliciculture, commonly known as snail farming, is raising edible land snails, primarily for human consumption or cosmetic use.
6. Apiculture/Bee Keeping.
Apiculture is the management and study of honeybees, derived from the honeybee’s Latin name Apis mellifera, meaning ‘honey gatherer’.
The cultivation of bees on a commercial scale for honey production is called apiculture.
2. Get the proper knowledge.
If you did Agriculture in high school, I must tell you that it’s not enough knowledge.
You could go along if you studied it as a course in college because you pretty much did something deeper.
But if you do not know, I suggest you go for a mini-course or consult the government in your country.
You can also lookup online resources on YouTube or paid courses on Coursera and other learning platforms.
3. Register Your Business.
No matter where your business operates, you need to abide by the laws of the land, and this is a significant reason you have to get your business legally registered with the government of that nation.
4. Get Grants.
A business grant is a sum of money given to a business to help further its business. They’re usually distributed by governments, corporations, foundations, or trusts. Like several other forms of business financing, grants do not have to be repaid, and business owners are not expected to give up equity in return for an appointment.
Most people are interested in Agriculture but have little or no start-up funds; I highly recommend you consult local or international grants in your country for this set of individuals.
If you don’t have enough start-up capital, you can apply for business grants.
Here is an article I wrote on how you can access international grants.
How To Promote Your Agricultural Business.
Now that you have taken the bold step to start cultivating or rearing animals, the next step is to begin deploying promotional strategies.
1. Word Of mouth.
This type of marketing deals with telling close friends and associates what you do. For example, in the case of agriculture, you can reach out to big market retailers that you can supply them at a very cheap affordable rate.
If they can get it to them at a quick and fast rate, then they become customers.
2. Use Google My Business.
Optimizing your business for search engines is one way to get your business to eyes that can see them effectively.
Google My Business is a core element of local SEO, so it’s important to highlight just how crucial it is that your listing data is accurate and kept up to date.
Research has it that 50% of consumers visit a store or business the day of performing a local search and that 80% of consumers lose trust in local businesses. This research means that every business going online should make sure the data across their hosted profiles are well set up.
Setting up your Google My Business profile is critical for local SEO. Get it right the first time with the following guide.
While there are lots of ways to monitor and improve GMB performance, to start with, you’ll need to set up your basic profile, and everything else falls in place.
I wrote a comprehensive guide on how to get started with Google My Business; click the link below to get started.
3. Own a Website.
A website would help your business become visible worldwide and even allow you access to international attention, and you never can tell you can get deals to export your produce.
Before diving deep into the basics and hardcore part of owning a website or running a blog, allow me to assume that you at least have a basic knowledge of how a complete website or a blog should run, so it’s time to stop talking and start doing.
I decided to drop a dedicated article on how you can own a perfect domain name and a cheap web host with BlueHost, and I recommend that you study and do what is advised in the article below.
Afterwards, you may return to fully digest the part you need to get started and stay on top of your game.
Here is a link to the recommended article.
4. Social Media.
Social Media is one of the prevalent business tools that every business should own. All you need do is take your business to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Here is an article I recommend you read to get started with the use of social media.
5. Email Marketing.
Email marketing is the act of sending promotional emails to an already built list of email subscribers.
If you are new to email marketing, here is an article I recommend you read to help you get started.
Just before consuming the above-recommended content on email marketing, I usually like to ease the stress of my reader to allow them to benefit as quickly as possible, and one way that I typically make this happen is by introducing the best way of doing things to them.
My custom and tradition are always to conduct a full forensic investigation on any online program and give my users feedback. This is why I am recommending GeResponse as your official email marketing software.
I have used GetResponse, and I must tell you that it is indeed a fantastic company that constantly innovates and builds great products.
I highly recommend reading this article below to learn more about how you can benefit from this fantastic product and scale your email marketing campaigns to success.
6. Sign up on the International Trade platform.
International trade platforms connect local producers of any commodity to buyers worldwide. One of the fastest means to make money in Agro-Business is to start exporting, and the best way to reach out is to make use of international trade platforms. Some global trade platforms are.
1. Alibaba.com
The Alibaba Group is a Chinese private company headquartered in Hangzhou, dedicated to e-commerce on the Internet, including business-to-business, retail and customer portals.
TRY IT NOW – Alibaba.com
2. DHgate.
DHGate sells more than 30 million goods in 227 countries around the world. It has more than 5 million customers worldwide and is one of the 2100 most visited websites on the Internet.
TRY IT NOW – Dhgate.com
3. Global sources.
Global sources are one of the first B2B platforms listed in NASDAQ under the name GSOL.
The B2B platform is famous for its high-quality suppliers from different industries. Established in Singapore in 2000, Global Sources promotes foreign trade, concentrating primarily on getting traders around the world closer together.
TRY IT NOW – Globalsources.com
4.EWorldTrade.
EWorldTrade is a popular online B2B marketplace that has evolved quickly and provides a modern and better way for buyers and sellers to meet each other. EWorldTrade is a U.S. affiliate of Reckon Media LLC, specializing in digital media and technology services.
TRY IT NOW – eWorldtrade.com
5.Made-in-china.
Made-in-china was founded in 1996; it is one of the most popular online portals in the world and one of the largest online B2B portals in China.
Focus Technology runs it, and the fundamental purpose of Made-In-China.com is to provide small and medium-sized businesses with easily accessible and enhanced web-based trading platforms to facilitate Chinese trade across the globe.
TRY IT NOW – made-in-china.com
Recommendation.
Apart from providing Agro-based services in your local country, I usually recommend that you look out for ways to start exporting to foreign countries worldwide. One significant advantage of this is that you stand to gain a higher profit margin than selling locally.
Here is an article I recommend you read to get started with exportation.
Conclusion.
Agro-Business is a huge money-making business that will be around till the end of man, and you can either choose to farm out those products or even venture into agro-packaging.
There are a lot of farm produce that does not have a very long life span and is easily damaged
due to very low patronage, one thing I recommend you do as an agro-entrepreneur is to start packaging those agro-products.
Great Article! I think you could even start a florist business where you grow your own flowers to use in different products and arrangements. And also spice farming. There are also plenty of different plants you can grow that will allow you to create various spices that you can process and sell.
yea, you can try it out, becoming a florist is also very cool