Farm Business Planning and Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Farm Managers, Agribusiness Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-AA-056

Before you join: Participants should understand basic farm production activities, such as crop calendars, livestock systems, input use or post-harvest handling.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Farm enterprises often make production decisions without a tested business case, current cost data or a clear view of cash requirements. Seasonal income, volatile input prices, weather exposure, livestock and crop cycles, debt obligations and market uncertainty can quickly turn a technically sound farm plan into a financial problem. Managers need plans that connect production targets to land, labour, machinery, finance, marketing and risk controls.

This course teaches participants to prepare, assess and manage a practical farm business plan. It covers enterprise selection, market assessment, production planning, whole-farm budgeting, gross margins, cash flow forecasting, capital investment appraisal, financing choices, risk management and performance monitoring. Participants learn to use production and financial data to compare enterprises, set realistic targets, test assumptions and present a plan that can support management decisions or financing discussions.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with worked farm cases, spreadsheet-based calculations, group analysis, management simulations and structured application planning. Cases may include smallholder aggregation schemes, commercial crop farms, dairy enterprises, mixed farms and donor-supported agricultural projects. Participants leave with a reusable farm business planning pack containing financial templates, planning checklists, risk registers and a draft action plan tailored to their own farm or programme context.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for farm performance, agricultural lending, extension support, producer organisations and agribusiness development programmes. It is particularly valuable where participants must turn production ideas into financially credible, measurable and fundable farm plans.

What you will be able to do

  • Prepare a farm business plan using enterprise, market, operational and financial evidence
  • Calculate enterprise gross margins from yield, price, input and labour assumptions
  • Build a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast for seasonal farm operations
  • Develop whole-farm budgets linking production plans to resource requirements
  • Evaluate capital investments using payback period, net present value and sensitivity analysis
  • Assess farm risks through a probability-impact risk register and response plan
  • Design farm performance indicators for production, finance, marketing and resource use
  • Present a financially credible farm plan to lenders, investors or programme stakeholders

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible farm plans supported by production and financial assumptions
  • Explain profitability differences between crop, livestock and mixed-farm enterprises
  • Identify cash shortfalls before planting, procurement or debt repayment periods
  • Assess machinery, irrigation and livestock investments using recognised financial measures
  • Communicate farm funding needs clearly to lenders, investors and programme managers

For your organisation

  • Improves budget discipline across farm enterprises and seasonal operating cycles
  • Reduces unplanned cash shortages through forward-looking cash flow management
  • Strengthens investment decisions for equipment, irrigation, storage and expansion
  • Creates clearer performance reporting for farm owners, lenders and project donors
  • Improves risk preparedness for price, weather, disease and input supply disruptions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a farm business model and structure an evidence-based planning process.

  • Farm business model links customers, enterprises, resources, costs and revenues
  • Business plan structure for owner-managed farms and agricultural enterprises
  • Vision, mission and strategic objectives translated into measurable farm targets
  • SMART objectives aligned with production cycles and market commitments
  • Whole-farm systems mapping identifies links between enterprises and shared resources
  • Stakeholder analysis covers owners, workers, buyers, lenders and service providers
  • Planning assumptions documented with sources, dates and responsible owners

Participants can assess market opportunities and select farm enterprises using explicit criteria.

  • Customer segments defined by volume, quality, timing and purchasing requirements
  • Value chain mapping traces product flows, actors, margins and service gaps
  • PESTLE analysis identifies policy, economic, social and environmental influences
  • Porter's Five Forces assesses buyer power and competitive pressure
  • Enterprise selection matrix compares profitability, risk, skills and resource demands
  • Market research plan specifies questions, sources, methods and decision uses
  • Sales assumptions tested against buyer contracts, seasonal demand and grades

Participants can prepare production plans that match farm targets with available resources.

  • Crop calendars sequence land preparation, planting, husbandry and harvest activities
  • Livestock production schedules track breeding, feeding, health and sales cycles
  • Land-use plan allocates fields according to suitability and enterprise priorities
  • Labour budgets distinguish family labour, permanent staff and seasonal workers
  • Machinery capacity planning matches field operations with available equipment hours
  • Input procurement schedules align seed, feed, fertiliser and chemical requirements
  • Standard operating procedures define critical production and quality control points

Participants can calculate and interpret enterprise gross margins for management decisions.

  • Variable costs classified by seed, feed, fertiliser, labour and services
  • Fixed costs allocated using appropriate drivers and stated allocation assumptions
  • Gross margin calculation compares enterprise revenue with directly attributable costs
  • Break-even yield identifies minimum output required to cover variable costs
  • Break-even price calculates minimum selling price under planned production conditions
  • Partial budgeting evaluates financial effects of proposed farm changes
  • Sensitivity analysis tests gross margins against yield, price and cost variation

Participants can build a whole-farm budget that consolidates enterprise plans and overheads.

  • Whole-farm budget consolidates enterprise income, costs, overheads and owner drawings
  • Revenue projections use expected yields, grades, prices and sales timing
  • Overhead budget includes administration, utilities, maintenance, insurance and depreciation
  • Depreciation schedules reflect asset cost, useful life and residual value
  • Profit and loss statement distinguishes operating profit from financing costs
  • Budget variance analysis compares actual results against approved plan assumptions
  • Scenario budgets model base, favourable and adverse operating conditions

Participants can forecast cash needs and plan working capital for seasonal farm operations.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Cash inflow schedules reflect harvest dates, buyer terms and loan proceeds
  • Payment calendars identify wages, inputs, debt service and tax obligations
  • Working capital cycle measures time between input payment and sales collection
  • Minimum cash balance set against operating volatility and lender conditions
  • Cash shortfall responses compare overdrafts, supplier credit and deferred expenditure
  • Monthly forecast review updates assumptions using actual receipts and payments

Participants can assess financing options and evaluate capital investments using financial criteria.

  • Debt, equity and retained earnings compared for farm financing needs
  • Loan repayment schedules distinguish principal, interest and payment timing
  • Debt service coverage ratio assesses repayment capacity from forecast cash flows
  • Capital expenditure proposal defines benefits, costs, timing and implementation requirements
  • Payback period measures time required to recover initial investment
  • Net present value discounts future cash flows using stated assumptions
  • Internal rate of return compares investment returns with financing costs

Participants can identify farm risks and establish proportionate controls and contingency actions.

  • Risk register records events, causes, likelihood, impact and accountable owners
  • Probability-impact matrix prioritises weather, market, production and financial risks
  • Weather risk responses include diversification, irrigation, insurance and contingency reserves
  • Biosecurity controls address livestock disease, visitor access and equipment sanitation
  • Price risk management considers contracts, storage, phased sales and market intelligence
  • Supplier risk assessment examines input quality, delivery reliability and payment terms
  • Business continuity plan assigns actions following major operational disruption

Participants can design performance measures and management reviews for farm plan implementation.

  • Key performance indicators connect strategic objectives with operational measures
  • Production indicators track yield, mortality, feed conversion and crop losses
  • Financial indicators monitor gross margin, cash position, debt and return on assets
  • Marketing indicators measure sales volumes, grades, rejection rates and buyer concentration
  • Environmental indicators track water use, soil cover, nutrient use and waste
  • Monthly management accounts support timely corrective action and accountability
  • Balanced scorecard links financial, customer, process and learning measures

Participants can assemble, communicate and implement a farm business plan with clear ownership.

  • Executive summary states opportunity, financial case, risks and funding requirement
  • Plan narrative connects market evidence, production capacity and financial projections
  • Funding proposal presents capital needs, repayment sources and security considerations
  • Management action plan assigns activities, deadlines, resources and accountable owners
  • Implementation milestones sequence approvals, procurement, production and market entry
  • Dashboard reporting format communicates progress to owners, lenders and programme teams
  • Plan review cycle updates assumptions after seasonal results and market changes

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Farm business plan template
  2. Enterprise gross margin workbook
  3. 13-week cash flow forecast
  4. Whole-farm budget model
  5. Farm risk register
  6. Business plan implementation dashboard

Who should attend

  • Farm Managers — need disciplined plans for production, finance and market decisions
  • Agribusiness Managers — require enterprise analysis for profitable farm operations
  • Agricultural Extension Officers — support producers to prepare viable business plans
  • Agricultural Loan Officers — assess farm plans, repayment capacity and investment proposals
  • Producer Organisation Managers — plan member services, aggregation and farm support
  • Development Programme Officers — assess farm enterprise viability within agricultural projects

Skills and tools covered

Farm business planningEnterprise budgetingCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalAgricultural risk managementPerformance monitoring

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, Balanced Scorecard, Net Present Value

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by realistic farm-management cases and facilitated calculations. Participants work with crop, livestock and mixed-enterprise data to prepare budgets, gross margins, cash forecasts and investment appraisals. Group exercises examine market choices, production constraints, financing options and risk responses. A farm-management simulation shows how changes in yield, prices, costs and payment timing affect results. Instructor feedback is used throughout, followed by individual application planning for participants' own farm, portfolio or agricultural programme.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic farm production activities, such as crop calendars, livestock systems, input use or post-harvest handling. They should be comfortable working with percentages, simple arithmetic and basic spreadsheet tables. Experience managing a farm, advising producers, financing agriculture or supporting agribusiness programmes is helpful. The course does not require an accounting qualification, advanced financial modelling skills, prior business-plan writing experience or specialist software. Participants may bring non-confidential farm records, budgets or production data if available, but these are not required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic farm production activities and be comfortable with simple calculations. You do not need an accounting qualification, advanced spreadsheet skills or prior business-plan writing experience.

Bring a laptop if possible, as financial planning templates are easier to use electronically. You may also bring non-confidential production records, farm budgets, loan information or market data, although these are optional.

The course suits farm managers, agribusiness managers, extension officers, agricultural lenders and development professionals supporting producer enterprises. It works for commercial farms, producer organisations and agricultural programmes.

Production training focuses on technical husbandry or crop practices, while accounting training focuses on recording transactions and reporting. This course connects production, markets, resources, finance, risk and investment choices into a management plan.

Participants can use the planning pack to prepare or revise a farm business plan, calculate enterprise margins and forecast seasonal cash needs. The same methods can support lending assessments, extension visits and agricultural project appraisal.

The five days provide approximately 32.5 contact hours, normally from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is divided between instructor input, farm cases, financial calculations, group analysis, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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