Some recommendations for those who want to venture into the agricultural sector.
(Edited)
Dear readers, this publication is the result of an enriching interaction I had with friend @lemouth in one of my articles, which referred to the decision of an agricultural enterprise to choose a crop or several crops for its production, on the basis of these premises it is necessary to emphasize that in the decision different variables influence starting with a market study up to those related to ecological and soil factors (soil). Of course it will not address aspects related to the market, but if some aspects related to spatial planning and certain management that the owner of the farm should have when you want to start producing on their lands.
Let us begin by pointing out that before planting you must know the agro-ecological conditions of the area, so that crops have an adequate yield and are not limited by factors such as humidity, temperature among others, together with this, it is important to carry out soil sampling, to know that so much can vary its physico-chemical characteristics from one space to another, which will allow a zoning within the agroecosystem and depending on the amount of hectares and the zoning performed can diversify the planting by distributing crops according to the characteristics of the soil that is in each area.
In the same sense, the producer after planning the above should start implementing a spatial arrangement, allocating one area for the sowing of pastures for the management of animals with the intention of producing milk and meat and another part for fruit crops, vegetables among others according to the needs and taste of the producer. From my point of view, I would not recommend planting a single crop as, that would limit biodiversity in the ecosystem and there is the risk that some insect pests are established in the crop without the possibility of some ecological control otherwise the use of synthetic products for their control would be enhanced.
Graphic example on the spatial distribution of crops in an agro-ecosystem
In this same order of ideas, it is necessary to make clear, that agricultural production units are natural ecosystems that were transformed by man, therefore, it is an activity that depends on natural processes, then part of the success lies in imitating the natural spaces which is achieved with the diversification of crops because, they allow to maintain a balance from the point of view of biodiversity, production of organic matter that promotes the recycling of nutrients, among other aspects, for example, when there is a diversity of crops different families each have different nutritional needs, therefore, there will be no excessive removal of a single element. On the other hand, a monoculture depletes certain nutrients from the soil, which must be quickly replenished with synthetic fertilizers, since organic fertilizers generate responses in the medium and long term.
On the other hand, a strategy that allows to maintain the balance is the association of crops in a mimas area, for example associations with plants belonging to the family of legumes that can bring benefits to the system, in terms of nutrient recycling, firstly by the decomposition of its leaves when they fall to the ground and, secondly, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen N2 through a symbiosis between its roots and bacteria which are nitrogen fixers, bearing in mind that this element is important for the growth of plants. When performing associations of trees or shrubs that have a deeper radical system these can perform a kind of pumping of some elements from the deeper layers of the soil to the surface, could benefit crops with a superficial radical system.
Finally, what should be identified the potentialities of the farms and treat them as a natural system where there should be interactions and management that allow to control some situations naturally, for example, if you want to break the cycle of an insect or avoid the extraction of some specific nutritional elements from the soil, you can apply crop rotation especially in short-cycle crops such as vegetables, which is to replace one crop with another from another family. Personally I like cattle raising, if you have livestock inside the farm you can make organic fertilizers based on cattle manure, there are many methods such as biol and manure tea, which can provide nutrients and some hormones that stimulate growth as happens with biol.
Thank you for staying, with me until the end, there are many alternatives and methods that can be implemented and that we will be sharing with you as we have done so far in our publications. We would like you to leave in the comments on what topics related to agriculture you would like to know a little more
From agrotecnia we reiterate our gratitude to our followers and all the communities that value our agricultural content, this commits us to continue sharing quality information with the whole hive.
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Definitely, there are so many factors that need to be considered before going into the production of crops, most families in Nigeria usually have a small farm to support feeding and they have some to take to the market in order to gain little monetary rewards that will help with the family upkeep. As expected, however, the returns gotten from these little farms are usually nothing compared with the stress and hard work put into the agricultural practice, I guess that is a result of the absence of adequate information regarding the agricultural practice.
Greetings dear friend @oluwatobiloba, thank you for your valuable visit to my article, certainly the work in the field is arduous, you need to manage many ecological factors to get great yields on crops, although I am not in your country there may not be government programs that support the agricultural sector including small and medium producers, the work of agricultural research centers also play a fundamental factor, since, they can socialize alternatives that are more economical and environmentally safe.
In my country Venezuela with the economic situation we live has also been made uphill agricultural production , producers were accustomed to the use of conventional technology with the use of technological packages that are very expensive, But today, they have looked for agroecological alternatives that are really effective but their effects can be reflected in the medium term.
I am glad that the article is useful for you, I hope you can start implementing agroecological alternatives that will go to a permit to produce at a lower cost. So long, have a great start to the week.
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Thanks a lot for those clarifications. This was a very interesting post (and it is cool to see it arising from our past discussion ;) ).
Cattle raising is a nice idea, but I imagine that this requires to take a decision in having both plants and animals on the same farm. Maybe this is something trivial for an agricultural company, but this requires the company to be of a certain size to manage it. Am I correct?
Have a nice week-end!
Hello dear friend @lemouth, not necessarily there should be the livestock component within a farm, everything depends on the demand for milk and meat in the area, also influences the inclination or taste that the producer has to the livestock activity, the amount of land does not influence much, here in the area I am located, there are agricultural production units with low land extensions and have livestock and crops, of course they have less animals, because they must adjust the animal load to the amount of area they have sown with pasture and the yield that these pastures have.
Here in the southern part of the lake of maracaibo Venezuela there are farms that have high tracts of land planted with diversified lands with palm cultivation and livestock in the same area, where manure is used to fertilize soils and nepe which is a residue of the palm fruit after processing is used for food processing for cattle.
If we talk about profitability, at the moment one of the most profitable crops at the moment is the oil palm, some producers are also leaving livestock and changing to the palm. As I mentioned earlier it is sometimes a matter of tastes or simply of looking for better economic returns.
So long, have a great start to the week.
I see. Thanks. It is thus a very global problem and intricate boundary conditions. Hmmm...
Cheers!
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So long, have a great start to the week.
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