FARM PLANNING
CONTENT
1. Meaning of Farm Planning
2. Importance of Farm Planning
3. Factors to be Considered in Farm Planning and Design of Farmstead
4. Principles of Farmstead Planning
Meaning of Farm Planning
Farm planning is the sketching, outlining and drawing of the farmstead as
well as arrangement of the land for proper usage without the risk of land
degradation. It is also the general arrangement of a farm before and after
its take off.
Importance of Farm Planning
Farm planning is important for the following reasons:
1. It helps in determining the actual dimension of the farmland
2. It promotes neatness of the farm
3. It helps to describe the future of the soil units
4. It helps to maximize the use of labour and other factors of
production
5. It helps in the location of farm structures and buildings
6. It can be used in the preparation of feasibility studies
7. It prevents wastage of farmland and other inputs
8. It is a prerequisite in the registration of farm enterprise
9. It can be used as collateral for getting loans
10. It helps farmers to project his yield before harvesting
EVALUATION
1. Define the term farm planning
2. Why is farm planning important?
Factors to be Considered in Farm Planning and Design of Farmstead
Meaning of Farmstead
A farmstead refers to the buildings which serve as a home for farm
animals and production centers for plants. These include shades,
orchards, barns, pens, farm shops, ware house, store, processing and
handling units etc. The following factors are necessary in planning and
design of farmstead
(i) Climatic factors: These include rainfall, temperature, air movement,
relative humidity and light intensity. These factors should be considered
because they have both direct and indirect consequence on agricultural
production. For example, a pen should not be located in the direction of
wind and light but against wind direction to prevent the movement of rain
into the pen during heavy rainfall
(ii) Nature of Soil: Knowledge of the soil type is needed in farm planning
and design of a farmstead. This is because any building sited on heavy
clayey soil can cause the foundation to be dislodged. Moreso, buildings
should not be sited on fertile land good for crops but on a poor soil as long
as they provide good drainage.
(iii) Accessibility: The farmland must be accessible to everyone that has
something to do on the farm. This will ease transportation and
conveyance of goods in and out of the farm
(iv) Topography of the Land: The topography of the land should be high
and level. Building should be on a straight elevation. Erosion should be
avoided as much as possible by avoiding sloppy land.
(v) Economic factors: These refer to the nearness to the factors of
productions. In constructing the farmstead, availability of capital, labour
etc are very necessary. In short, the best and cost ratio should be
carefully analysed.
(vi) Water Supply: This is very important because of its primary
importance for domestic and livestock uses, irrigation of gardens etc.
Therefore it should be made available cheaply and plenty.
(vii) Purpose of building units: For instance office buildings should be
located on a high elevation for easy monitoring and far away from the pen
because of unpleasant odour, pollution and other health reasons.
The office building should have a shade and processing units
Principles of Farmstead Planning
The following are the principles of farmstead planning:
1. Livestock buildings should be sited on a poor soil for crop production
2. Buildings should be located in easily accessible areas
3. Farm buildings should not be located on slopes to avoid erosion
4. Crops should be planted on the soil within the farm
5. Residential and office buildings should be located far away from
livestock buildings.
EVALUATION
1. State four factors to be considered in sitting a farmstead.
2. Why is water supply important in farmstead planning.
3. State the reasons for planning a farmstead.
4. Discuss five principles of site selection and location of structure on
the farm.
