Do you live and work in the city but want to invest in agribusiness? Read on how you can overcome challenges of long distance farming

Agribusiness is no doubt one of the best investment avenues to take today. Unfortunately, most of those who have the money to invest in agribusiness live and work in the city. They only have the option of doing what we can call long distance farming which comes with a load of challenges. However, these challenges do not make it impossible to generate a good profit from the “long-distance” farming venture. Here’s how to overcome the challenges:

If you are new in Agribusiness, team up

One sure thing about farming for profit is that you cannot be away all or most of the time and expect a good harvest. Unless of course you have a very close person like I am lucky to have my mom who runs the farm for me. So team up: find a friend or friends who also have a deep passion for the kind of farming you want to get into and are ready to invest with you.

With such a team, you will be able to have a constant and regular check on the farm’s progress by visiting it on alternate turns. In distance farming, t is crucial that there be regular visits by someone who has a heart for the business. Lack of this is a sure call for failure.

Follow due diligence to get work-worthy farm managers

Now that you will be working from a distance, it is inevitable that you will need a farm manager and workers who will always be on the ground. Unfortunately, we look for trustworthy farm workers instead of looking for “work-worthy” ones. It is not enough to find trustworthy workers, although this is one key quality. The people you entrust with that investment must also be knowledgeable and experienced in the kind of farming you want to do. But most importantly, they must be people who can work with you. It is workers with a combination of these qualities that I refer to as work-worthy.

The bitter truth is that such workers cannot be identified by their knowledge and skills. You’ve got to work with many in order to be able to separate the worthy from the unworthy. It is hectic to hire and fire but it seems like the only way.

Always be present during major farm events

In agribusiness, nursery preparation, planting or transplanting, application of fertilizers and pesticides and harvesting are major events. During these events, you must be present. These are the events that have a direct impact on the quantity and quality of your harvest. However dedicated your farm mangers are, you cannot leave this to chance.

Have basic info on the type of agribusiness you intend to do

We make a terrible mistake by getting into a given type of farming just because it has good profits. We get ourselves good farm managers and pump in money without necessarily knowing what exactly for. A little research on say onion farming will give you basic knowledge that will help you during supervision. It will make it easier for you to work with the farm managers since they won’t be dragging behind them a blindfolded investor. With your passion an armed with this basic info, you will be able to contribute constructively towards the management of the farm.

Engage farmers who have been there

You definitely aren’t starting something that has not been done by anyone else. People have been there and their experience is invaluable. Whenever you face a challenge, they will almost always have a solution to it from their experience. Talk to them.