I have been following debate on telephone farming for some time and those who claim it is a recipe for failure are dead wrong.Farming, generally speaking, is a risky venture and, in my case, I have used telephone farming to learn the ropes as I grow.Like many big entrepreneurial ideas, my venture into poultry farming started as a passion which I pursued in my free-time over the weekend while keeping my 8am to 5pm job (Seeds of Gold, July 9, 2016).The idea was to start small and learn from my mistakes, which I have recounted several times. As I have said before, learning comes from doing and no amount of preparation can replace the practical knowledge that only exists in use.Before you plunge into farming big time, therefore, start small and run the ropes of the trade. If your target is 100 dairy cows, start with 5 or 10, even as a telephone farmer.I have learnt a lot while undertaking telephone farming and I don’t think even hiring the best professionals in the field would have saved me from my mistakes.Besides, I have interacted with people who ventured into farming big time for the first time using their pension or golden handshake and their experiences to say the least, were disappointing.Again, I have also learnt that sometimes our passions can’t pay the bills. But that does not mean that having a side hustle is a waste of time if you are not making money from it.My farming adventure has become the best pastime for my son Baraka, 5, and daughter Amani, 4. Instead of keeping them indoors to watch TV or play video games the whole day during weekends while sipping sodas, I get them to play and learn life skills and stewardship.
Poultry farming Photo www.ghanacrusader.com