19 How to Start Organic Farming Practices

Organic Farming Practices: If you want to farm sustainably.

There are certain measures you need to undertake in order to move toward that goal.

And if you’re looking for a farm that practices sustainable methods.

Then you can use these steps as your criteria.

While prospects in farming are on the decline in general.

The demand for synthetic-free foods that haven’t been genetically modified.

Have actually encouraged the growth of organic farms.

Both crops and livestock have been raised without artificial means for millenia.

However, in the modern era, you need to have your farm inspected.

And officially certified as “organic” before you can market your products as such.

BusinessHAB partners with over 1000+ experts from a wide range of fields to ensure our content is accurate and based on well-established research and testimony. Content Managers conduct interviews and work closely with each expert to review information, answer reader questions, and add credible advice. Learn more about our editorial process and why millions of readers trust BusinessHAB. Do You Have any information to share with us? Do well to contact us on Email below. You can request publication of your article for publication by sending it to us via our Email below.

See also: 18 Tips to Start Charter Buses Services in Nigeria

See also: 12 How to Join GLOVO Business in Nigeria

Organic Farming Practices

1. Don’t confuse “sustainable” with “organic”.

An organic label means that the food was grown or raised without the use of synthetic chemicals (but there are exceptions).

• Lots of people confuse sustainable agriculture with organic farming.
• Both are aimed at using more ecologically sensible practices.
• But they are judged by a distinct set of standards.
• Organic farming, especially when carried out on a large, industrial scale, can still damage the environment and threaten public health in a variety of ways: Ecosystems can still be ruined by widespread monoculture; pesticides can still be applied; soils can still be depleted of nutrients and organic matter; pollution can still be created; and exorbitant amounts of fossil fuels can still be spent (and wasted), all under an organic label.

Read on: 18 How to Get Small farmers Loan in Nigeria

2. Know what sustainability means:

Farming a single area so that it produces food indefinitely.

In order to move in this direction, a farm has to:

• avoid irreversible changes to the land (for example, erosion)
• withdraw no resources from the environment that cannot be replenished (for example, not using more water than can be replaced regularly by rainfall)
• produce enough income to remain on a farm in face of worldwide farm consolidation and infrastructure development.

See also: 22 Tips to Write a Proposal for Conducting a Seminar in Nigeria

Organic Farming Practices

3. Learn what being “organic” entails.

Grow crops without the use of synthetic substances or genetic modification.

Raise dairy herds and livestock with 100% organic feed, supplements, and medications.

Expect a lengthy transition period from non-organic to organic farming before being able to market yourself as “certified organic.”

• Non-GMO crops must be grown on land that hasn’t been treated with synthetic chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides for three full years before they can be considered organic.
• Dairy herds can be switched from non-organic to organic after a year-long transition that is supervised by a certifying agent.
• Poultry must be raised exclusively by organic means from their second day after hatching onward.
• The mothers of livestock must be treated only by organic means no later than the last trimester of pregnancy for the newborn to be considered organic.

Read on: 11 How to Start Commercial Real Estate Developing Business in Nigeria

4. Get an entry-level position, apprenticeship, or internship.

Learn the ins and outs of organic farming by applying for a farmhand position on a certified organic farm.

Condition yourself to the long hours and heavy labor demanded by this profession.

Grow acquainted with the techniques used in organic farming.

Familiarize yourself with the farm’s calendar year in terms of planting, harvesting.

And how best to utilize the time in between.

• In lieu of working on an actual farm, working for a nursery.
• Or landscaping company can also teach you similar core concepts.
• Apprenticeships and internships can be found through the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s ATTRA program.

Organic Farming Practices

5. Research your land’s history.

One important element of the application process is providing a list of substances used to treat soil and plants over the last three years. If you have recently purchased your land or are in the process of doing so, be sure to ask the previous owners for this information. Factor this into your OSP’s timeline.

• If the previous owners used substances that are not approved for organic certification, expect a longer wait before you can become certified yourself.

See also: 15 How to Reduce your Energy Bills in Nigeria

6. Create an OSP.

Your specific plan will vary from others depending on your crop.

Livestock, the size of your farm, and other factors.

In general, it should include all the practices you intend to use to farm your land.

Organic Farming Practices

7. Detail the following areas:

• The exact procedures to be enacted, and how often.
• The substances that you will use at all levels of production.
• How you plan to supervise production to confirm that your OSP is enacted.
• Any methods used to prevent nearby non-organic farming from affecting your organic production.

Read on: 26 How to Set-up Lighting & Power system/Accessories Store in Nigeria

8. Consider the source.

Determine where your resources come from and whether you’re taking more than can be replaced, either through natural processes or your own practices.

• Where are your resources and inputs coming from?
• Think specifically about water, energy, soil amendments, and feed (if you have livestock).
• Also think about long-term, capital investments, such as structural building materials, tools, etc.
• Keep in mind that no farm is an island: complete self-sufficiency is not a requirement of sustainable agriculture. Long-term stability and productivity is.
• The more renewable and varied your resources are, the longer your farm will last.

See also: 19 How to Start Cocoa to Coffee Company in Nigeria

9. Eliminate waste.

There is no “away” to “throw” to. Everything is connected.

The three “R”s apply here more than ever: reduce, reuse, recycle.

It’ll not only be more sustainable, but it’s cheaper, too.

• Examine every bit of garbage and waste that your operation produces and ask “What else can I do with this?”
• If you can’t do anything to do with it, try to think of ways someone else in the community can use it. Be creative.

10. Encourage diversity within the farm.

Choosing “poly culture” over “monoculture” results in less waste and often, reduced fossil fuel consumption.

• Use varieties and breeds that are well-adapted to the conditions in your locale, rather than bred for maximum productivity and storage (with a sacrifice in hardiness and flavor).
• Rotate crops and pasture. Use companion planting and green manures to keep the land perpetually fertile and to prevent topsoil loss. Don’t let any one piece of land lose an irreplaceable amount of nutrients.
• Keep plants and animals around that indirectly benefit the farm’s stability and productivity. For example, yarrow and nettles add to the nutritional value of plants grown near them, as well as increase the volatile oil content of plants grown for oils. Plant extra basil to serve as an insecticide, and keep guinea fowl around to keep ticks at bay. As they roam your farm (and the surrounding countryside), guineas eat the ticks left by browsing deer off tall grasses. They are traditionally reputed to kill or keep rattlesnakes away as well.
• If guinea fowls are not common to your area, try growing ducks (if you have a fish pond) and/or chickens. Chickens can eat crop trimmings and vegetable waste. If they can’t eat them all, they claw and step on it, enough to make it into organic fertilizers rich in nitrogen (especially when added to their poop).
• Raise both livestock and crops, and set up a mutually beneficial relationship between them. The simplest way to do this is to use manure from your livestock to fertilize crops, and use some of your crops to feed the livestock. If you are unable to raise both, find a neighbor who’s specializing in the opposite and set up an exchange.

See also: 21 How to Apply for Bank Teller Jobs in Nigeria

11. Encourage the diversity surrounding the farm.

The ecology of your farm does not end at the property lines.

• Plant trees around the farm that act as windbreaks and also provide habitat for local birds.
• Which can prey on insects that prey on crops).
• Tolerate natural predators that keep pests at bay.
• For example, snakes that feed on gophers, ladybugs that feed on aphids, spiders that feed on insects which spread diseases to crops.

12. Diversify financially.

An ecologically sustainable farming operation won’t do anybody much good.

If it can’t generate a profit and keep itself running.

Unless you or someone else is willing and able to sponsor the farm with an off-farm day job or another external source of income, you’re going to have to crunch the numbers until you’re in the black.

• Take advantage of the options available to you as far as direct marketing is concerned. That includes: CSA/subscriptions, farmers markets, roadside stands, and even the Internet.
• Adding value to products is a smart way to differentiate this farm’s lettuce from that farm’s lettuce.
• When you take your lettuce and make it part of delicious burger made from healthy meat that was pasture-raised in your own fields and top it with a slice of tasty, red tomato that grew in your own soil, you stand to appeal to a wider audience and rake in more profits.
• In other words, don’t just grow a wider variety of stuff––do a wider variety of things with the stuff you grow, and consider selling it from an on-farm store or restaurant (as well as on the Internet).

Read on: 23 How to Start Door to Door Laundry Business in Nigeria

13. Cater to every economic level and ethnic group in the community.

People of varying wealth seek different things from a farm.

Certain ethnic groups value farm products that the mainstream community has no interest in (for example, many Caribbean immigrants seek male, uncastrated goats for meat as well as amaranth, a widespread weed, which they use to make a dish called Callaloo).

See also: 23 Tips to Start Business Selling Car Replacement Parts in Nigeria

14. Publicize.

Talk to everyone about what you’re doing at the farm.

Provide educational tours and workshops.

Keep your farm looking nice, because if it ever comes down to it.

The local community may fight development proposals.

Because they perceive your farm to be a haven of agricultural heritage.

Read on: 10 How to Watch CCTV Camera through Internet in Nigeria

15. Find good, reliable labour.

Find people who are committed to sustainable agriculture (not just dabbling in it) .

And who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty as they apply their minds.

• A reduced dependence on fossil fuels means an increased dependence on human labor, and not just physical, manual labor––you’re going to need knowledgeable workers who understand the complexity of the system you’re running and can enhance it with every decision they make.

See also: 20 How to Get GTB Banking Job in Nigeria

16. Have your farm inspected.

Assess your OSP’s success. Based on your OSP’s timeline.

Arrange with your agent for them or a third party to visit your farm.

Have them investigate your operation thoroughly.

Expect them to take samples of your soil and products, including tissue samples of livestock.

• For crops, expect inspectors to focus on: the condition of your fields and soil; the health of your crops; weed- and pest-control; irrigation; storage facilities; equipment.
• For livestock, inspectors will look for: the quality, rations, and purchase history of animal feed; the animals’ quality of life, including living situations, medical care, and overall health.

Read on: 5 Tips to Earn Fast Money in Coupon Business in Nigeria

17. Enjoy your life.

Farming is hard work, but the most successful farmers know when to call it a day and circumvent burnout.

Remember why you’re farming and why, in particular, you’re aiming for a sustainable operation.

For most people, it’s because they like knowing they’re leaving land in better shape than they found it.

See also: 5 Top Questions for Doctors @65 in Nigeria

18. More tips

• If you’ve found a great worker but you can’t afford to pay them enough for them to make a living.
• Be flexible and creative. Consider profit-sharing and/or equity building.