Short answer: An agribusiness plan is a working document that shows who buys your produce, how much you can grow in each season, what it costs and what could go wrong. Keep it to numbers you can defend, name the body you are applying to and show what you are putting in yourself. A plan you can run the farm from is worth more than a longer one that only sounds good.
Key takeaways
- Start with the buyer and the product, then work backwards to the land, labour and money.
- Plan production by season and by month, using the rainy and dry periods of your own district.
- Give every price in the plan a source and a date, and say that current rates must be checked.
- Show your own contribution in cedis, land, stock or labour, because lenders want to see something at risk.
- Name the risks you have seen in your district, such as pests, a poor rainy season or a power cut, and write what you will do about each.
The plan a loan officer reads in four minutes
A bank officer or an extension officer who opens your plan looks for three things before anything else: who will buy the produce, how many units you will produce in a year, and how much money you need before the first sale. If those three answers are not on the first two pages, the rest of the document will not be read closely.
A common failure is a plan that spends six pages on the vision for national food security and then gives the farm's yield in a single line at the back. That is not what a reader needs. The plan should read like the notes of someone who will run the farm on Monday morning. Short sentences, numbers with their source, and a plain statement of what happens next are worth more than a glossy cover.
Start with the buyer, then the product
Write the plan in the order a buyer thinks. Who takes your produce, and how often do they buy? A maize farmer may sell to a mill in Techiman, a food processor in Kumasi or a trader who comes to the farm gate at harvest. A vegetable grower may supply a restaurant in Accra on a weekly order. A goat keeper may sell kids to households for Eid al-Adha. Each buyer sets different quantities, grades and delivery days, and the plan has to say which one you are aiming at.
Describe the product in one paragraph. Say what it is, the grade or size, how it is packed and the month it is ready. If you intend to add value, such as turning cassava into gari, treat the processed product as a separate line with its own buyers. Do not mix the raw and processed numbers, because the reader will not know which one drives the sums. Our guide to agro-processing and value addition shows how a processed line can sit in the plan.
The market section: evidence, not optimism
The market section is where most plans go soft. Replace phrases such as “there is high demand for food in Ghana” with things you can show: a letter of interest from a buyer, a list of market days where you have sold before, a record of what a trader paid you last season, or a note from the district MoFA office on crop demand in your area.
Give current rates from your local market and say where you got them and when. This guide does not quote market prices for crops, goats or feed, because those move with the season and the district. Visit the market on two different days, ask the traders you would sell to, and write down the range you saw. A plan that records a range from a named market on a named date holds up far better than one round number nobody can trace.
Write down who else supplies the same product within reach of your buyer. A reader who sees that you have looked at competitors trusts the rest of the section more. For the wider chain from farm to buyer, our poultry value chain guide sets out where the money sits for birds.
Production planned by season, not by the year
An annual figure hides the months when the farm is short of cash and labour. Break production into seasons. In the forest and coastal zones most farmers plan around the major rains, from about April, and a shorter minor season later in the year. In the Northern, Upper and Savannah regions a single rainy season sets the calendar, and the dry months are when storage and water matter more than planting. Check the planting windows with your local MoFA office and agric extension officer, because the rains move from year to year.
| Plan line | What the reader wants to see | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Area or number of units | Acres, hectares or head of stock for each season | Land papers or your herd register |
| Yield per unit | Your own past figure, or the range from extension guidance | Harvest records and the extension officer |
| Planting or stocking month | The month each activity starts | Local rainfall pattern, MoFA |
| Harvest or sale month | When the product is ready to sell | Crop calendar and your own notes |
| Storage or holding time | How long the product stays on the farm, and where | Your store plan |
A figure for the animals is no different. For a goat or poultry unit, write the number of breeding stock, the expected births or hatches, the losses you plan for, and the month the animals are sold. Feed is usually the biggest running cost, so show the ration and where the grain comes from, using our poultry feed formulation basics for the bird side. For a broiler unit, a planned batch of day-old chicks each month shows the reader how the flock keeps the cash moving, and our poultry business plan guide covers the bird side in more detail.
Operations: who does what, and with which tools
Write down the operations in the order they happen: land preparation, planting, weeding, fertiliser, pest control, harvest, drying, storage and transport. Under each one, name the person or the hired team, the equipment and the days it takes. This section shows the reader that you know what the farm needs in a busy week, which is often the week a plan fails.
Be honest about machinery. If you hire a tractor, say so and state how the hire is booked. If you rely on a knapsack sprayer, the plan needs a spare nozzle and someone who can fix the pump. Note the access road, the water supply and any power you depend on. Dumsor is a real operating cost for any farm with a motor or a cold store, so say what backup you have. If the produce needs cooling, our cold storage guide gives the options and the power questions to answer.
- Who opens and closes the store, and who holds the key
- Which hired labour is booked for weeding and harvest, and when
- What happens to the crop if the truck is late
- Who checks the stock count each month
The budget: start-up costs and running costs kept apart
Split the money into two lists. Start-up costs are things you buy once: fencing, a borehole or water tank, a store, equipment and the first herd or flock. Running costs repeat each season: seed, fertiliser, feed, vaccines, fuel, wages, transport and sacks. Keep them apart, because a lender wants to know how much you need to start and how much the farm needs to keep going.
| Budget line | Type | How to fill it in |
|---|---|---|
| Land preparation and clearing | Running, per season | Two dated quotes from local labour groups or tractor owners |
| Seed, stock or chicks | Running, per season | Supplier quotes, with the quantity needed per unit |
| Fertiliser and feed | Running, per season | Dealer quote, with the rate per acre or per head from extension advice |
| Store, fencing and water | Start-up, once | Builder's quote with a materials list |
| Equipment | Start-up, once | Two quotes, plus an allowance for servicing |
| Wages and transport | Running, per season | Days per enterprise multiplied by the agreed rate |
Every line gets a source and a date. Quotes go stale quickly, so write “quoted in March” beside any figure you took from a dealer. Add a contingency line and explain how you chose its size. A reader trusts a plan that admits what it does not yet know. Keep the running costs in the same books you use day to day, as set out in our farm record-keeping guide.
Break-even: the number that tells you how much to produce
Break-even tells you how many units you must sell before the enterprise stops losing money. Add up the fixed costs for the season, such as the store, the water and any equipment you pay for whether you harvest or not. Then divide that total by the margin on each unit, which is the selling price minus the direct cost per unit. The answer is the number of bags, crates or head you must sell to cover the fixed costs.
Say the figure in words as well as numbers: “we must sell at least this many bags in a season before the enterprise covers its fixed costs.” If that number is higher than the farm can plausibly produce or sell in a good year, the plan is not ready, however neat the tables look. Cut the fixed costs, raise the margin by adding value, or change the enterprise. For a realistic view of whether a bird enterprise pays at your scale, our poultry profitability guide is a useful check.
Risks, and the plan for each one
List the risks that have actually hit farms in your district. Across much of Ghana that means a late or short rainy season, a harmattan that dries out young plants, pests such as fall armyworm in maize, and a market slump after a glut. Add the risks that belong to your site: a flood-prone valley, a road that closes in the wet season, or a power line that goes down in every storm.
For each risk, write three things: how likely it is in your area, what it would cost the farm, and what you will do about it. The last part is what makes a plan useful. Staggered planting dates, a second water source, a crop that stores longer, a forward agreement with a buyer or an insurance scheme where one exists are all answers. Check whether an insurance product is available for your crop and its current terms before you rely on it.
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The funding ask and what you put in yourself
State how much you are asking for, what it will buy and how you will repay it. Name the body you are applying to: the Agricultural Development Bank, a rural bank, a savings and loans company, or a programme such as Planting for Food and Jobs, which has its own rules. GIRSAL, the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, works with lenders to share risk on agricultural loans. Its terms change, so check the current position with the lender before you write any figure into the plan.
Show your own contribution. It can be cash, land, a store you have already built, labour or stock you already own. Lenders want to see that you have something at risk. A plan that asks for the whole cost with nothing from the applicant is hard to fund, however good the market looks.
Milestones that show the plan is on track
Set three or four dated milestones for the first season. Examples: land cleared and ploughed by a stated date, first planting done, store ready before harvest, first sale made, and the cash balance checked at the end of the lean months. Each milestone has a name, a date and the person responsible. A reader can then check your progress against the plan, and so can you.
A good milestone is one you could photograph or count. “Improve farm management” is not a milestone. “Forty bags stored in the dry store by the end of October” is.
Checklist before the plan leaves your desk
- The buyer, the product and the volume you can supply are on page one.
- Every price has a source, a place and a date, and the plan says current rates must be checked.
- Production is split by season, with planting and harvest months named.
- Start-up costs and running costs are kept in separate lists.
- The break-even figure is written in words as well as numbers.
- Each major risk has a named response.
- Your own contribution is stated in cedis, land, stock or labour.
- The funding body and its current terms are named, with the date you checked them.
- Someone outside the family has read the plan and asked at least three questions you have answered in writing.
Mistakes that sink agribusiness plans
The most common is copying a template and leaving its example numbers in place. A reader spots a yield figure that belongs to another crop in another zone, and the rest of the plan loses credibility. The second is planning a full harvest in the first year with no allowance for land preparation or a failed season. The third is a plan with no owner, which reads as though the farm runs itself. Name the person who runs each part, including yourself.
The fourth is writing the plan once and filing it. Update the production and money sections at the end of each season, keep the old version, and let the lender see what you planned and what you did.
If poultry is part of the mix, make the chick supply part of the operations section. Our day-old chicks page explains how ordering works, and you can place an order through the order form. For a question on your plan's numbers, WhatsApp +233 24 915 1503. If you want to talk about longer-term supply, see our partner with us page.
Questions farmers ask
How long should an agribusiness plan be for a bank in Ghana?
There is no fixed length, but most lenders read the first few pages most closely. A plan of around ten pages, with a clear summary, a budget and a cash-flow table, is easier to act on than a long one. Attach supporting papers such as land documents, quotes and buyer letters as appendices. Ask the lender what they want before you start, because forms differ between institutions.
Do I need a business registration before I write the plan?
Not always, but a registered business is easier to fund and easier to sell to. Business registration runs through the Registrar-General's Department, and tax registration through the Ghana Revenue Authority. Check the current requirements and fees before you apply, since they change. If you are not registered yet, say so in the plan and show the steps and their timing.
Where can I get help writing the plan?
Start with your district MoFA office and the agric extension officer, who know the local crops and planting calendar. The National Board for Small Scale Industries offers business advice to small enterprises. Ask the lender's agriculture desk whether they have a template. If you pay a consultant, ask to see a plan they have written and check that it is specific to a farm rather than a generic template.
What if I do not know the exact prices for my products?
Say so, then show how you will find out. Visit the market on two or three days, ask traders and write down the range you see. Date every figure and use the lower end of the range in your sums. Add a note that current rates must be checked before any loan is signed. A plan that admits a gap and shows how it will close it is more credible than one confident round number.
Should I include poultry in the same plan as my crops?
Yes, if poultry is part of the farm. Treat it as its own enterprise with its own buyers, costs and labour, and show how it shares the store, feed and labour with the crops. Many farms use poultry manure on the land or grow feed crops for the flock. Our poultry plan guide covers the bird side in detail, and you can link to it from your main document.
How often should I update the plan?
At the end of every season at the least. Compare planned and actual figures for area, yield, sales and costs, and note the reason for each gap. Update the production and money sections, keep the previous version and tell your lender or supporter what changed. A plan that moves with the farm is the one people trust for the next loan.
Can a plan help me get a buyer agreement?
It can, because a buyer wants to know what you can deliver and when. Include the buyer's name, the quantity they want, the grade and the delivery date. Where a buyer has only said they might buy, say so, and do not count it in the sums. A written agreement with agreed quantity and payment terms is far stronger than a verbal promise.
