How To Start A Profitable Organic Farming Business

Are you planning to start an organic farming business? If YES, then read this article and learn more on the steps to follow to launch a profitable organic farm.

An organic farm business has a high potential to grow and succeed because steadily the demand for organically grown farm products has grown.

With the increase in awareness of the multiple health risks of foods grown with chemicals, more and more people are turning away from food products grown with fertilizers and other chemicals toward organically grown food.

Here are the 7 Steps to Start An Organic Farming Business 

Organic farming was normally done on small, family-run farms. But since the demand for organically grown food products is now increasing, more and more people in India are investing in land for organic farming.

Organic farming is friendlier to the environment and is more sustainable compared to newer farming techniques. So, not only you can make huge profits from organic farming, but it also helps to protect the environment and the planet as a whole.

Read: How to Start an Organic Food Store Business

So, if you have spent years growing various plants and produce in your family garden, you can turn your experience into a lucrative business. No formal qualifications are required and you can get started even on a small budget. Here are the steps involved in starting a successful organic farm:

1. Learn More about the Organic Farming Business

Your first step toward starting an organic farm is to find out more about the business to have a better understanding of how things work. Running a small farm in your yard is different from running a bigger organic farm. So, you need to understand the extra input required to farm organically on a commercial scale.

A good way to start is to contact the owner or manager of an established organic farm. Tell them about your intent to start your own organic farm and greenhouse business. Then ask important questions about the business, starting from questions on how to get started to those on how to manage the business successfully after launch.

Learning more about the business will help you understand and avoid the pitfalls and challenges you are likely to encounter as you start your own organic farm business.

2. Determine the Type of Crops to Grow

Chances are that you don’t have enough land to grow a wide range of crops. Even if you do, you still need to specify the type of crops you will grow on your farm. These could be flowers, vegetables, food crops, herbs, or other plants.

Don’t just choose any crop or produce out of personal preference. Conduct market research to learn what produce is popular in your area. That is, figure out what farm produce sells well. You don’t want to invest your time, energy, and effort into growing produce that nobody in your locality wants to buy.

Find out what other farmers in your locality are growing on their farms. This will give you an idea of what consumers in your locality are buying. Defining which specific farm produce you will grow will also help you better prepare your land for it.

3. Write an Organic Farming Business Plan

Important details about your organic farming business will go into your business plan. These include your mission and objectives, your target market, your competition, and unique selling proposition, your management plan, and your financial plan.

A business plan may not necessarily guarantee the success of your organic farm and greenhouse business, but it will significantly boost its chances of success. Your business plan will serve as a step-by-step guide to setting up your business successfully and running it effectively afterward. It will also help you understand if there’s really a market in your locality for organic food products.

You can find lots of helpful resources online that explain how to write a business plan. You can also search for free business plan templates that you can modify easily.

4. Inspect your Organic Farm and Resources

Chances are that you already have a piece of land to use for your organic farming business. But bear in mind that you need to have quality soil and water. Because these are the basic things needed by plants to grow well.

Check the type of soil on your farm and find out whether it is suitable for growing your chosen types of produce. Also, check the status of the water available. It is important to ensure that you are not using contaminated water and the water does not contain harmful chemicals.

You also need to check your farm for sunlight penetration. Every inch of your land must get enough sunlight, as this is essential for proper plant growth.

5. Investment Required to Start Organic Farming Business

The investment will depend on the level of equipment and automation you employ on the farm. However, you should be prepared with an investment in the range of 1 Lac to 3 Lac Rupees per acre of organic farming land. In addition, there will be the cost of distribution and marketing of the produce.

6. Subsidies for Organic Farming Business

The government of India under the National Project on Organic Farming a Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme provides cash subsidies and technological inputs to companies associated with commercial organic farming.

Read: Organic Farming Subsidy For Indian Entrepreneurs

The scheme is monitored by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare through the National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF) in collaboration with NABARD or National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

7. Start Planting

Having taken the previous steps, prepare your land, and start planting. You will most likely need to hire some people to work with you while preparing the land and planting your produce.

If you have farmland, you can start an organic farming business practically with nominal investment. One cow is enough to cater to a 5-acre of land. You don’t need to buy manure for preparing the soil on the farm.

You just need to buy seeds for the specific plantation crop. However, the planting and harvesting must be done from your end only.

If you want to start an organic farm business, you must have some knowledge about starting and managing a farm. Additionally, you must have some ideas about the marketing planning of organic farm products.