Thursday, February 26, 2015

How To Get Farm Loans

By Earlene McGee


Farming is an important economic activity. A lot of people have moved to towns and found white collar jobs. They are not in possession of land for producing their own food. Land owners are able to undertake commercial farming. This is usually expensive and may require one to seek for a financier. Farmers need to learn how to get farm loans which will enable them to utilise their farms and make profits.

The amount of finances needed to undertake a farming project will be determined by how big it is as well as the type of farming to be done. Some ventures are more expensive thus need more cash than others. The better the prices for the produce, the more the profits will be.

One can decide to venture in keeping farm animals for meat or milk. Keeping animals will not be an easy task and will need patience and close monitoring. The animals can fall sick and will require a lot of inputs in form of food and medicine. It may take some time before returns are realised. In such a case it may be better to seek for a long term loan. This will allow the farmer time to breed his animals before he can realise profits and start repaying the loan.

Growing crops may bring returns much sooner. Some crops are seasonal and are harvested after a few months. The farmer is able to sell the produce and earn money to pay off the loan. Other crops take a bit longer and when this is considered, it will help in identifying the type of loan to seek that best helps in meeting the objectives of the farming project. In case one is investing in planting trees, then the loan should be long term as trees take many years before maturity.

In the financial market, there are many financiers. Each of these comes with its own products which are made to attract farmers into purchasing them. The farmer has been the beneficiary of increased competition in this field as the cost of services has dropped and it is easier to get financing today than long ago. However, one can still get better and cheaper loans by doing some research in the market.

The period over which a loan is to be repaid is important too. When the repayment is done over a very long period of time, the total amount of money repaid will be a lot. If repayment is done within a shorter period, less money will be paid. However, the period should be one that the farmer is comfortable with.

There are government bodies which finance farmers. These bodies target farmers who cannot access finances in the private financial institutions. Their interest rates may be cheaper. Due to the good terms of the loans, they have conditions which ensure that the poor farmers are able to benefit from the finances without being outdone by richer farmers. Farmers should consider this too.

It is possible for farmers to engage in profitable farming even if they cannot afford to finance the projects from their own pockets. This is by acquiring loans from financial institutions. By applying some of the knowledge discussed, they will most likely succeed.




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