1. Assessing the benefits of the Farm Business School
Session 21:
Assessing the benefits of the Farm Business School
CAPACITY BUILDING OF SMALL FARMERS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MARKET ACCESS TCP/PHI/3402

2. OBJECTIVES By the end of this session, the participants shall have:
Evaluated the last production season; and
Identified the benefits of FBS

3. Evaluation
Process of checking if planned activities have been implemented according to plan and objectives/goals have been met.
Helps to find ways to improve on future plan/activities.

4. Farm Business School (FBS)
PART I – DIAGNOSIS AND PLANNING
Module 1: Starting the Farm Business School
Session 1
(Date)
Rationale of a Farm Business School and Developing Group Ownership and Scheduling of Meetings
Module 2: Understanding Basic Concepts
Session 2
Farming as a Business
Session 3
The Farmer as an Entrepreneur and Farm Business Profitability
Module 3: Where we are now
Session 4
Assessing Farm Situation and Translating Analysis into Action
Session 5
Understanding Enterprise Profitability
Session 6
Understanding Marketing and Markets

5. Farm Business School (FBS)
Module 4: Where we want to go
Session 7
(Date)
Presenting the Market Survey Report and Developing a Vision and Goal for the Farm
Module 5: Developing a Business Plan
Session 8
Choosing an Enterprise
Session 9
Components of a Farm Business Plan: Farm Production and Marketing Plan
Session 10
Components of a Farm Business Plan: Profitability, Cash Flow and Availability and Risks
Session 11
Preparing a Business Plan and Action Plan
Module 6: Record Keeping
Session 12
Overview of Record Keeping and Practice of Keeping Farm Business Records

6. Farm Business School (FBS)
Continuation of Module 6
Session 13
(Date)
Choosing an Enterprise
PART II - IMPLEMENTING
Module 7 : FBS meetings during production season
Session 14
Agreeing on Session and Schedule & Mobilizing Finance
Session 15
Group Marketing, Buying and Saving
OPTIONAL
Session 16
Understanding Contract Farming and Appraisal
Session 17
Assessing and Managing Risks
Session 18
Benchmarking

7. Farm Business School (FBS)
OPTIONAL
Session 19
(Date)
Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur
Session 20
Value a Addition
PART III – EVALUATING AND RE-PLANNING
Module 8: Reviewing past business and planning for the next season
Session 21
Assessing the Benefits of the Farm Business School
Session 22
Assessing the Performance of the Farm Business Plan
Session 23
Choosing Farm Enterprise for the Next Season
Session 24
Preparing a Farm Business Plan
Session 25
Developing an Action Plan

8. Assessing FBS not, why not?
Plenary
1. Was the FBS a useful forum? If yes, why? If
not, why not?
2. What was the most important learning for
you?
3. Did you find the business plan preparation a
useful process? Why or why not?
4. Did you change anything in your farm as a
result of the FBS? Share some examples?
Detailed Questionnaire

9. A. Technical Inputs from the FBS
To what extent have you engaged in more commercial farming operations since the training program?
How has the training you received influenced the crops you now grow and livestock you raise?
Did you make any changes to the production methods that you use? Please describe these.
How do you think you performed compared with other farmers in your district who did not participate in the FBS training?

10. A. Technical Inputs from the FBS
Has the farm business training changed their attitude to their work as farmers? If yes, by how much and how?
What has been the overall effect of the training on your farm profit?
What have other farmers said to you about the training program?

11. B. FBS as a support to the farmers
How did you find the balance between learning ideas and concepts and learning practical skills?
How much support have you received from your extension agent or other farmers to help you apply the methods learnt?
Has any follow-up training been provided to you from outside the FBS? If so, what kind of training?

12. B. FBS as a support to the farmers
What do you think about the approach used to develop the Farm Business Plan?
How would you rate the implementation part of the programme? Did it cover problems and topics when you needed them to be covered?
What suggestions do you have to improve the FBS programme?

13. Thank you and Have a Nice Day!