Prime
Why regular farm inspection is necessary
Michael J Ssali. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Remember that the idea to start that venture was yours and you had particular goals. It is upon you therefore to find out if things are going on the way you would like them to go and if your expectations are likely to be met.
When you set out to become a farmer, it is assumed that your objective is to come up with good results --- high yields, good profits, and maximum satisfaction.
A farm is an investment like a shop, a petrol station, a restaurant or any other business into which money is sunk with the hope that more money will be generated. It is no use therefore investing money in a project which you have no time to visit and find out how it is performing.
A good farmer must find time to regularly check on his crops and livestock. It is not enough just to depend on phone calls and WhatsApp messages to the farm employees.
Remember that the idea to start that venture was yours and you had particular goals. It is upon you therefore to find out if things are going on the way you would like them to go and if your expectations are likely to be met.
It is the reason some farmers travel long distances every week-end and any other public holidays to visit their farms upcountry. A walk in your farm will enable you to see which coffee tree is not high yielding.
You might also see another tree whose branches are wilting. You could see an ant hill that is building up where it should not be. It might be a new type of weed beginning to invade your farm. Pragmatism is required and it is on the farm that most farmers make decisions and choices about what next steps to take ---- upon seeing the problems right on the ground. There is an English saying which goes: “The sole of the farmer’s boot is the best manure.”
The more frequently you walk in your farm the more issues you are likely to discover and to solve. If for example you recently applied some manure, like cow dung, go and see if the crops are getting greener.
Farm inspection should come first before any inputs are purchased. Visit the animals and the birds regularly.
Get to know them and let them know you. Smell like them and make them your friends. Beekeepers often walk quite close to the beehives during inspection and they are never stung by the bees.
The bees know that the farmer is their friend and boss. They look at him and they know he routinely passes by.
