AgriPlan-it: Funded by Coronation Fund Managers
There are significant opportunities available to the AgriPlanner core training component that we would like to realize together with Abalimi Bezekhaya, a key reference group partner and custodian of the ultimate user experience and benefit of the AgriPlanner Programme. Through further development we would like to maximize:
- the huge benefit of having learners being able to populate a generic AgriPlanner mechanism with their own specific local details. (actual product input and market prices in local currencies, customized localized production cycles, local/regional product varieties, local climate, actual land and field sizes, project specific actual local costs for rent, water, labour etc., production scale – from spade to tractors and full mechanisation);
- the immense training power and potential of having a robust generic AgriPlanner mechanism that could be used for any range of agri activities (veg, dryland crops, poultry, livestock, fruit, aquaculture, bee keeping, even agriprocessing!);
- the potential for AgriPlanner to be used by small farmers for themselves and for the employees of bigger farms, to understand the agri process.
These opportunities have grown the conceptualization of an expanded AgriPlanner simulation to respond to these needs. Thus the existing AgriPlanner training programme can be expanded to incorporate a generic simulation could be used in a range of farming situations that include dry land crop production, livestock and poultry as well as mixed farming. In this way, participants in the training will be able to:
- Plan their farming operations more effectively.
- Understand the economic value and potential of their enterprise.
- Understand financial flows and
- Improve their application and understanding of financial management procedures.
The expanded training would be accessible to learners at each of the four levels or stages of development and the resulting AgriPlanner matrix would be a stand alone product that could be used with or without additional practical training and process (or situation) specific training nuggets (which become an ever expanding resource pool as new ones are added as specific needs/markets emerge). With such a generic layered AgriPlanner, there is no reason not to implement it into any context, world wide (with little or no adaptation).
Our initial conceptualization of the matrix is as follows (though this will be refined during development):
| Content | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land use (examples in brackets) | One type ; eg.(veg or livestock or fruit) | Two types: eg.(veg & chickens) | Two+ types : eg (wheat + sheep + agriprocessing) | Complex : (any number of combinations) |
| Your land size | Measures | Layouts | Alternatives | Optimisation |
| Resources used | Mostly by hand | Cost benefit of equipment | Labour vs mechanised | Mostly mechanised |
| Your costs | Units | Units + distribution | Units + Packaging | Units + Marketing Costs |
| Your Finance | Simple - Year round income | Asset valuation; Handling Paeks & troughts | Asset leverage; Balancing varaitions | Alternative funding sources; Loans credit |
| Solving Problems | Identify and remedy | Identify, risk analysis & yeild impact | Balancing risks | Risk reduction; diversification |
| Your markets | Identify first level; How to access; fixed prices | Identify new; price variations | Identify alternative products and markets; Demand and price variations | Developing market relationships |
| Your plans | Monthly - Simple records | Monthly - Complex records | Monthly rolling - Prompts Actions | Daily rolling - Following plans |
