Australian New Crops Web Site
Supported by the Rural Industries Research and
Development Corporation
The ten points for planning
If you feel you would like to start producing a crop which
is a little unusual, the answers to the following questions may make the
planning easier.
1.
Are you a contented person?
Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to
pay the price to make them come true.
If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy
people?
A man of action forced into a state of thought is
unhappy until he can get out of it.
If you answered yes, proceed to the next
question.
If you answered no, then new crops will probably not
be the answer to your current problems. If
your children are currently starving, then copy what the neighbour is
doing. New crops are a long-term, high
risk gamble. We should only gamble what
we can afford to lose.
2.
What type of interest do you have in new crops?
The gambling known as business looks with austere
disfavour upon the business known as gambling.
(Ambrose Bierce)
The secret of business is to know something nobody
else knows.
(Aristotle Onassis)
If the new crop is to be a business, it should be
approached as such. If the new crop
product is to be sold for a profit, then commercial business principles should
apply. Proceed to the next question.
If the new crop is a hobby, then don’t be surprised if
it does not produce a profit for you.
3.
What do you enjoy doing?
True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and
exercise of the body; the two are ever united.
(Humboldt)
If you can’t learn to do it well, you should learn to
enjoy doing it badly.
(Ashleigh’s First Law)
Never wrestle with pigs. You get dirty and they enjoy it.
If you do enjoy or expect you would enjoy producing
the new crop product, then proceed to the next question.
If you have no experience in the type of crop you are
contemplating then you may not enjoy working with the new crop and its product. We should be careful about embarking on a
business which is physically different from what we are accustomed to, without
a period for getting accustomed to the new style of work. For example, tree crops are very different
from high-intensity horticultural crops; large scale cereals are different from
aquaculture, etc.
4.
Have you chosen a new crop that you are willing to commit yourself to,
financially?
The quality of a peron’s life is in direct proportion
to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of
endeavour.
(Vincent Lombardi)
If you have, then proceed to the next question.
If you have not, then perhaps the choice is
wrong. There are many ways to find out
about other new crops:
5.
If you have decided upon a new crop, do you have easy and free access to
plants and information about the new crop?
Information is the currency of democracy.
If you answered yes, proceed to the next question.
If you need to pay for access to plants or
information, don’t proceed until you have considered why you are spending the
money. Many new crop scams arise from
the sale of plants or information. If
you are developing a new crop yourself, are you relying on someone else’s
original germplasm or information?. If
so, do you have a right to it or will any returns need to be shared?
6.
Can you describe the new crop product to be sold?
It is not the employer who pays wages—he only handles
the money. It is the product that pays
wages.
If you can describe the product accurately, proceed to
the next question.
If you are unable to describe the product accurately,
then its marketability cannot yet be determined. Although you may have been impressed by the
large number of possible products from a new crop, there is a need to focus
upon products individually to determine their marketability.
7.
What is the marketability of the new crop product?
• Can I
sell the new crop product?
• How
can I get it to market?
• Who
will get in my way?
• How
can I improve my information?
(Tony Sadler, 1997)
If you can answer these questions, proceed to the next
question.
If these questions cannot be answered, the following
need to be investigated:
• Is
the new crop product currently traded here or overseas?
• Where
are the existing markets for the product?
• What
type of markets are these, in terms of size?
• What
is the product used for, leading to identification of substitutes for the
product and the nature of the substitution?
• Where
is the target market for the intended new product?
• Is it
possible to estimate the possible market price, taking into account the
possible prices of substitutes, and import/export prices?
• Are
there any limitations imposed by the market?
• What
packaging is required and is there a distribution mechanism available?
• What
is the estimated future demand (taking into account economic and demographic
factors and factors which may affect this demand)?
• What
promotional strategies will be required?
These are the kinds of questions which arise during
the DOOR Marketing short course.
8.
Will the new crop grow in your area?
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of
growth.
(John F. Kennedy)
If the answer is yes, proceed to the next question,
but do not commence large scale plantings.
If this information is not clear, consider where the
crop normally grows and its similarity with this type of environment. Large scale trials should not be encouraged
at this stage.
9.
Are you contemplating forming a group to grow and market the new crop
product?
Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what
makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilisation work.
If the answer is yes, ensure that the group includes
plenty of inspired producers, interested processors if the product is to be
processed in any way, distribution agents and marketing experts, along with any
researchers who are willing to help on your terms.
If the answer is no, consider the fact that
production, marketing and financial management expertise are all required if a
new crop business is to be successful.
10.
Have you formed a group already?
My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds
of people: those who work and those who take the credit.
He told me to try to be in the first group, there was less competition
there.
(Indira Gandhi)
If the answer is yes, has your group done the
following:
• reached
agreement about resource requirements, expected outcomes, action plans to
achieve them, and distribution of any profits,
• established
a process for project monitoring to identify and resolve problems quickly and
efficiently,
• established
economic benchmarks and an agreement to abandon the project once these have not
been met, and
• established
a system of review to place on record the circumstances under which the project
was successful or failed?
If the answer is no, consider how you will handle all
these matters, if you are hoping to be commercially successful.
Have you answered yes to all the above? Consider the commencement of trials:
• trial
production for trial marketing,
• trial
production for trial processing and packaging and
• experimental
production using randomised, replicated trials on prospective sites.
Summary
Many new crop initiatives in the past have commenced
with proposals to conduct regional trials (plantings in a range of diverse
environments). Such activities attract
funding and publicity for a potential new crop industry. For the industry to be successful, however,
the germplasm included in trials and the location and management of such trials
needs to be determined by the marketable product of the new crop. The ten points for planning focus on the
nature of the new crop to be commercialised and the people doing it.
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Latest update 30 August 2009 by: ANCW