How to Raise Money to Start and Run Your Poultry Farm Business

Introduction

Poultry farming, like any other viable business model out there, requires grit and passion to fully execute but the truth is too many people out there dream of owning poultry farms but only a few of them end up owning one themselves. In this blog post, I’m going to highlight a few strategies you can take to secure funding to purchase equipment or to run daily operations.

Plan your business

In an earlier blog post I wrote, www.pkombookkeeping.com/2020/04/02/how-to-start-your-new-poultry-farming-business/, I explained that poultry farming is very broad so it may be wise that you decide which sector of poultry farming will best suit you. Furthermore, you have to understand the costs involved in your choice of production. Costs in poultry production include fixed asset costs and operational costs. An example of a fixed asset is a battery cage while salaries expense will be an operational cost. To learn more about costs involved in poultry production, I suggest you take a look at this post-www.pkombookkeeping.com/2020/04/07/how-much-money-do-you-need-to-start-a-poultry-farm/.

Bootstrap your business

Most poultry farmers in Ghana fund their operations out of their own pockets. This funding strategy has its unique advantages and disadvantages but the greatest benefit is that you maintain total control of your business and are not obliged to pay back any interest or give up any form of equity. This way, any mistake you make won’t be so catastrophic because you don’t have the obligation to pay back any loan. You can start with a few thousands of Ghana cedis out of your savings to purchase day-old cockerels and sell them off when they are matured. Here, you get to practice brooding, feeding, vaccination and marketing. This early-stage attempt at poultry farming will give you the necessary experience to pursue greater opportunities.

 Ask for help from family and friends

This is another popular way people raise funds to start their poultry farms. Sometimes, after gathering some resources on your own, you may realize that it is not enough to run your business so it may be a good idea to turn to your spouse, other relative or a close friend who loves you enough to want to see you succeed. But be careful when dealing with friends and family members because any wrong move may destroy your relationship. Family and friends should not be necessarily limited to giving you loans but they can also be your strategic customer – for example, when I founded PKOM Bookkeeping, I knew of a relative who was into poultry farming so I approached her and offered her bookkeeping and accounting services for free for almost three months. After the trial period, she became a strategic customer because she could pay me 3 months in advance for my services; this way I had enough money to pay my business expenses.

Fig1: Photo of a young man giving money to his friend.

Image courtesy Shutterstock.

Bank loan

If you happen to be a government worker or receive a salary through the accountants general’s department, then it is relatively easy to access a loan and you wouldn’t have to present collateral since monthly deductions would be made directly from your salary.  However, if you don’t work for the government, getting a loan can be challenging but not necessarily impossible. Banks are pretty risk-averse and would like to ensure that they don’t just dish out money to any average Joe – they want to make sure that you know your business inside-out. To be able to win the trust of banks, you must have a professional business plan, keep proper financial records and make reliable financial projections; PKOM Bookkeeping specializes in these. 

Fig2: A photo of an Agricultural Development Bank in Ghana.

Government grants or loan

Agriculture has been a high priority for this Akuffo-Addo led administration, therefore, there are tons of grants and loan facilities for poultry farmers (Hint: search on Google, “Government grants and low-interest loans for poultry farmers”) but you should bear in mind that these types of facilities are highly competitive and bureaucratic so it may take quite some time to get your hands on them.

Conclusion

Poultry farming can be very capital intensive, therefore you must try to explore different strategies through which you can successfully raise funds to have your share of this gigantic but rapidly growing industry.