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How to Identify the Best Agri-business to Venture in
Start by identifying the areas that you can easily involve in as you list the opportunities and strength that you have in each. From crops, livestock, Aquaculture, Apiculture and Horticulture are various agribusinesses people can engage in for good income.
The biggest challenge for many upcoming entrepreneurs is usually how to differentiate one from the other. In the crops sector, the most grown crops for many people are bananas, avocado, maize, potatoes, tomatoes and vegetables. In livestock, the most popular are dairy cows and goats, sheep and goats, rabbits, pigs and poultry. And in aquaculture, one can keep tilapia, catfish, trout or common carp.
These agribusinesses can be done at both the producer or processor level. To select the best agribusiness, start by identifying the areas that you can engage in as you list the strengths and opportunities that you have in each. This will further depend on whether you are doing the agribusiness as individual or a group.
Some of the things to consider before selecting an agribusiness include the sector itself, for instance garlic farming or dairy, market demand of the products, ability to value add ,capital needed, expected income and lab our, among others. For a group in Nyeri or Laikipia for instance, garlic farming and dairy may be one of the ventures to consider due to ready market, availability of milk in case of value addition, ready pasture and favorable climate.
When it comes to investment, garlic farming requires more capital to start but at the same time is the post profitable as it has a ready market comparing to other crops may require less land and initial capital than cows. Similarly, keeping fish may not be as labour intensive as running a dairy enterprise. One mistake that many agri-prenuers make when considering the agri-business to engage in is prioritizing expected income at the expense of market demand and value addition. Consider all factors, however, small before making the final decision. It is not hard to know if a business is viable. For instance, in Nyeri, you will find red onions in plenty while in Nyandarua potatoes. In others like Meru, you will find miraa production in excess production. Thus, anyone or group seeking to enter into agri-prenuer would naturally choose to locate their businesses where the raw materials are available. Now, once you identify the business to engage in, the next logical step is usually to scrutinize the factors so that you understand the ones that are most limiting. For instance, in the dairy value chain, some of the most limiting factors can be high cost of investment, huge land demand and tough market due to increased competition.
Lastly, once you pick an agribusiness, talk to an expert to guide you through the actual steps of starting the business.