The desire to become an agribusiness owner or a farmer is a noble one, especially in this age and time when many people shy away from it. However, problems occur when farmers are eager to start a business, but resources are either scarce or inadequate. Starting an agribusiness with little to no capital can be tricky if you don’t know where to start and how to go about it.

Starting an agribusiness

In today’s world, especially in Africa, challenges such as food insecurity are making it important for everyone to explore farming and agribusiness as an occupation. Africa’s population is multiplying at a huge rate, making it all the more imperative to produce food. It may sound almost impossible to start farming without the necessary resources, but you don’t need to break the bank or go into debt to begin. All you need is the right information, proper planning and commitment.

Choose the right agribusiness

This is one of the most important steps you’ll need to take because it determines the success of your agribusiness journey. Since you’re starting with little money, you should focus your energy on ventures that require very little capital but yield great returns. These are the types of agribusinesses you can start with little to no money:

  • Short production crops: Vegetables such as ugu, a leafy vegetable that only occurs in West Africa, and amaranthus, referred to as vegetable amaranth or Chinese spinach, is found in tropical or sub-tropical regions in Africa (and China), and cereals like maize and groundnut can cultivated in your backyard on a small plot and tomatoes that can be cultivated in sacks.
  • Livestock farming: This includes poultry farming, which you can begin by raising 50 chicks in a simple pen made with nets, or rabbit farming for which you only need a few rabbits in a cage to start. This makes it possible to start a snail, chicken or rabbit farm with little capital.
  • Fish farming: This is a low-cost business as there are many options to explore. A movable plastic tank, tarpaulin tank or a concrete-walled pond are all affordable options.

Start small, expand later

Don’t be in a rush to rent hectares of land or expensive and sophisticated machinery. Your focus should be on gaining mastery and generating consistent revenue. You can begin in your backyard with easily modified options such as crates, tarpaulins and sacks.

Free resources and information

When you don’t have a lot of money to start your agribusiness, look for free resources such as a friend’s land, or using manure instead of fertilisers and taking free courses and tutorials on platforms like YouTube. These platforms provide answers to questions such as: “I want to be a farmer, where do I start? or “How to start farming for beginners, among others.

Apply for grants

Many grants help you start an agribusiness with no money. The government and many private and non-profit organisations provide many avenues to support small-scale farmers with, for example, funds and training, such as:

One Acre Fund: Operates in multiple Sub-Saharan African countries, supplying smallholder farmers with quality seeds, fertiliser, and financing (specifically for inputs) to increase productivity.

AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa): A nonprofit organisation that invests in projects that improve seed supply, fertiliser value chains, markets and finance for small-scale farmers.

Self Help Africa: Focuses on smallholder farming communities, providing resources such as seeds, tools and training to improve yields, as well as promoting agricultural entrepreneurship.

Invest earnings back in your business

Your business is at a delicate stage where it needs resources for expansion and survival. Your profits should go back into your business.

Leverage social media for marketing

In this digital age, marketing has become much easier, so the way forward for a small-scale farmer is to market before harvesting so that there are ready customers to prevent post-harvest losses.

What to avoid when starting an agribusiness

  • Don’t pick a capital-intensive agribusiness, such as cattle farming. Do your research before choosing a business.
  • Don’t start large by taking loans to rent land and hire labour or equipment. This will automatically put pressure on you and won’t give you room to expand steadily. Don’t try to do it alone: When it comes to starting an agribusiness, knowledge is key. Hence, you must pursue knowledge, join forums and discussion groups, utilise YouTube and take free online courses. Knowledge will help you avoid costly mistakes.

Observe and implement

The easiest and fastest way to start farming with no experience is to learn by observing and putting that knowledge into practice. Make contact with a farmer that is successfully doing what you want to so that you can learn from that person and apply successful practices in your own agribusiness.

Starting your own agribusiness with little to no money and experience is possible and attainable. Remain committed to building wealth as an agribusiness owner while carefully following the advice in this article.

For more information about some of the grants beginner farmers can apply for, visit www.oneacrefund.org, www.agra.org or www.selfhelpafrica.org