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10 MULTIPLE OF STREAM OF INCOME EVERY FARMER SHOULD EXPLORE

The joy of farming is fulfilled when a farmer has the ability to earn from just a single source on his farm. Farming is lucrative to the extent that everything on your farm can fetch you additional income e.g. as a crop producer, the husk, bran gotten as a waste material after dehusking or threshing your grains can serve as animal feed or a source of fuel for other process on the farm.

Having more than one stream of income as a farmer, save you from many unexpected financial woes. Your ability to make money from many sources gives you the opportunity to enjoy the many benefit has to offer as a farmer. Below is a list of other sources of income you can explore as a farmer while maintaining your original farm work:

  • Convert waste to wealth: the enormous waste generated on the farm is a good source of income. If you are involved in cattle rearing or poultry farming for example, the droppings produced by these animals can be converted to cooking gas by the use of a digester while the remaining waste from the process can serve as manure on your vegetable farm.
  • Garden farming: this kind of farming is not rampant in Nigeria Like the western world. As an animal farmer you can create for yourself another source of incomes by engaging in garden farming.

Harness the manure produced by your animals to fertilize your garden and the stems of your harvested vegetable can also serve as food for your animals. Your harvest can be sold to be sold to your neighbors or in your local market for extra and instant cash.  

  • Consultancy: there are many questions in your line of expertise that people need answer to. You might have answers to many of such question. As a farmer who is sure of the quality of knowledge he has, can offer such knowledge for a fee.

There are people out there who plan to start up one agricultural venture or the other, if you are vast and have the know-how to their challenges the consulting for those people will add extra cash to your pocket.

  • Coaching and training: I have a farmer friend who is an expert in this aspect. He is a cassava farmer with broad experience in his line of trade. He has a registered school with a well-seasoned set of tutors to train people on how to farm (Practically) as well as teaching them business aspect of agriculture.

Secondly, if you don’t have the capacity to run a school of such magnitude, you can simply opt for the one on one option. In this case all you have to do is to train one person at a time.

This option tends to produce the maximum result since all your attention is focused on one person at a time. This source of income can make you good money if you know how to run and maintain the school.

  • Seminar and workshop: unlike the coaching school idea, seminars and workshops are less strenuous to organize, and the time involved is quite short.

To organize a seminar or workshop, a venue or a hall is required. The size of the hall you picked should be determined by the number of people you planned to have or you expect to cut down on or maximize cost.

Seminars and workshops are usually run within a day or more, even weeks; all these and other factors are dependent on what you have to offer. But ensure that the organization of the seminars, workshops do not hinder the operation of your original business.

  • Sells and distribution of farm inputs: at the beginning of every planting season, farmers, especially new ones seek for where to purchase inputs for their farms. These inputs can be information of seedlings, stems, and even fertilizers. You can offer people this service and bank their money with ease.

To do this all you need do is to locate the farmers leaving within your vicinity or better still pay personal visit to this farmers or people, ask of their needs and assure them of your ability to meet their demand when the need arise probably at the same price they will get it from the market

  • Direct services: there are many direct services you can offer as a farmer, especially if you have other skills which can be made used of on the farm. Skills like carpentry, ironwork, welding, construction, equipment repairs, equipment operator etc. are some of the most needed skills wanted on the farms. If you have this skill, you can sell it out to other farmers once you are less busy on your own farm.
  • Middle man: many farmers especially in Nigeria, lose a high percentage of their produce simply because they are not able to sell it out on time. This problem has been one of the major challenges facing agricultural production in Africa as a whole.

This problem is caused by many reasons which I will not like to analyze here. The good news is that every problem or challenges present its own opportunities. The fact that a particular produce is wasting here does not mean it’s not in high demand somewhere else.

All you need to do is to search for those in need of these produce; once you can establish a contact and stroke a bargain then you can go and purchase these produce or get the demanded amount to the people who needs and then you can pocket the gain.

But ensure you know the market value of the produce, the amount the farmer is willing to offer you the produce and the amount the buyer is willing to offer you as well. 

  • Rentals of agro-equipment: This is another nice business to indulge in if you can fund it. Without a doubt, the price of procuring agricultural machinery is quite on the high side.

But if you can then you can place the equipment to farmers who need it for their agricultural work.

Lack of agricultural machinery on the farm contributes to the reason why many farmers can’t go into commercial production. But once people around you know you have this equipment on rent, they can hire them from you at a fixed price to use it or a fixed number of hours as well.

These same machines can serve you as well on your farm. All you need to do is to employ an operator who will be in charge of the operation and maintenance of your equipment as well.   

  • Processing and packaging: apart from the inability of farmers to convey their goes to the market or sell it on time, another factor that contribute to the high level of food damage in Nigeria is the inability of farmers to process and package their harvest.

Growing a crop is one thing but the ability of the farmer to process his produce into semi-finished goods is another ballgame entirely.

You as a farmer can look into this problem and provide a solution to it. If you can find a way to convert raw agricultural produce into semi-finished goods, this will curb waste and increase your income.

Also, you can also buy the excess of other farmers’ harvests and convert it as well into semi-finished goods. These converted goods can be stored and sold out when there is scarcity or when the price rises for any reason.  

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