What are factors that must be considered when choosing what to grow as a cash crop?

      

What are factors that must be considered when choosing what to grow as a cash crop?

  

Answers


penny
When choosing a crop to grow for cash the following must be looked at.

Size of your farm
The size of the farm is an important consideration because if it the farm is small you have to consider growing a high yielding crop per square meter as well as a crop that has a shorter period to maturity to be able to make a profit. For example carrots would yield more per square meter as well as mature faster than maize would.

Soil type
Different crops require different soil types. An agricultural specialist in your county will advice on the best crop to grow on your soil type. Take a sample to your county office for testing and advice on how to make it better for the crop you wish to grow.

Climate type
Find out the prevailing climatic condition in the area you wish to grow your crop, Find out too the natural Adaptability of the crop To prevailing conditions, to avoid a crop failure

Availiabilty of water.
Most crops will flourish if they get enough water. The farmer who has ample water supply is a step ahead of those who rely on rainfall that may sometimes fail.

Total input for different crops.
Some crops require more in terms of labour, pest control, fertilizers, etc. These will affect the profit margins

Timimg
By timimg we mean, find out what most farmers are growing and when because if the supply for a certain crop is large the prices drop and consequently profit margins
The forces of supply and demand affect prices and therefore profitability. If you have water available it helps to plan when to have a harvest so that you have your crop when the supply in the market has dropped. This will fetch higher prices and therefore higher profits.

Accessibility to the market.
Upon maturity, your crop would spoil in the farm if there are no roads to quickly take your harvest to the market. Normally agents or brokers who come to the farms to buy crop will offer a very low price to earn large profits. Good access to the market will allow the farmer to avoid selling to the brokers at a lower price and earn higher profits selling directly to consumers.

Market availiability.
This is the most important as you need to sell your crop as soon as it matures especially if it has a short storage period.

Topology of
Profitability Yield versus input
Resistance to pests and deiseases
Theft or animal destruction possibility
penny1955 answered the question on August 23, 2018 at 02:58


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