Posted by Chester Morton / Sunday, 1 January 2017 / No comments
The features of commercial farming
Definition
Commercial farming can be defined as system of farming where
crops are grown for sale and or for exports to make profit. For instance, cocoa
and coffee farming is a commercial venture because it is cultivated for sale to
make gains.
THE FEATURES OF
COMMERCIAL FARMING
It is a large scale venture
One of the features of commercial farming is that it is a
business that is undertaken on a large scale. The acreage that is put under
cultivation is very big. While some farmers cultivate thousands of acres, some
use a few hundred acres or just a few tens.
It is produced for sale
Under commercial agriculture, the acreage that is put under
cultivation is mainly for sale. The thousands of acres of cocoa, rice, maize,
millet etc are harvested and sold to marketing companies or to individuals.
It requires a lot of expenditure
Another feature of commercial farming is that it requires a
lot of capital investment. The farmer must prepare the land by ploughing and
harrowing, he must buy seedlings or seeds and he must apply pesticides and
fertilizers. Since this would be done on a large plot of land, it needs a huge
capital outlay.
It uses hired labour
The commercial farmer needs a lot of labour to execute his
project. He may not have enough family members to rely on like the subsistence
farmer. For this reason he has to hire labour from other sources to help in the
realization of his dreams.
Highly mechanized
A commercial farmer is very likely to employ modernized
methods of farming. The size of the farm alone requires that he uses tractors,
harrows, planters and combine harvesters. This way he can clear more acreage
to maximize his profits.
Can be farmed all year round
Another feature of commercial farming is that the farmer can irrigate
the land in other that he can plant throughout the year. This is so because he
does not have to depend on the rains as the subsistence farmers do.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Highlight the features of commercial farming.
2. Identify six characteristics that can be used to determine
who a farmer is.
