The saying that farmers ‘work so hard that they don’t have enough time to make money’ demands some thought. Farming, not being among the ordinary eight-to-five jobs, has a way of keeping you so busy that you often do not get around to sitting down and analysing your business and your role in it, as well as in society in general.
Doing this is useful to confirm what you are doing right and pinpointing where you could improve your methods, or even revise your outlook and attitude. Some serious analysis could open a whole new world and help you understand what kind or farmer you are – or want to be.
American life coach, Brooke Onike, sums it up well: “Faith farmers plant seeds and water, weed, and fertilise the seedlings. And then they trust the process. They return to the garden regularly, but not obsessively. Their tending is consistent and calm. They trust that their effort will bring forth good fruit. They can weather storms and learn from each season.
“Worry farmers also plant seeds but every day they wring their hands and ask: “Are the plants growing? Did I do it wrong? They even pull up the seedlings to check for roots, disrupting the growth with their fear. Their worry steals joy from other parts of life. And then there are the doubters who may plant, but hesitate. They question whether it is worth it. They don’t water, don’t weed, convinced whatever effort they gave wasn’t enough anyway.”
Farmers vary in the degree to which they accept and use new techniques. Agricultural extension officers, always on the lookout for leader farmers that could be used as mentors, like to group farmers into four categories in this respect. At the top of the pile are the innovators who usually queity make up less than 4% of the farmers in the district but are the quickest to try new methods, even if there is some risk involved.
Then come the early adopters (a little more than 10%). They are younger and more educated than most, but don’t take risks quite as easily as the innovators. They are followed by the early majority (30% or so) who are slower to adopt new ideas and usually do their own thing, but quietly. The late majority (also about 30%) tend to adopt a new technique long after most other farmers have done so. They tend to be a bit sceptical about change and are not too good at finances.
Last come the laggards who number about 15%. They are absolutely the last to change, that is if they ever do. They prefer the traditional ways, could be older, and have contact with only family and friends, making no effort to broaden their knowledge. In Afrikaans they were known as agterosse. Which one are you?
Researchers have identified four other categories of farmers – conservationist, purposeful, production driven, and traditionalist – based on different characteristics of each group. They examined more than 100 factors measuring farmer characteristics, many of them related to conservation, including awareness, attitudes, beliefs, and motivations for, and barriers to practice adoption, as well as the types of information sources that farmers trust for conservation information.
*The conservationists (28% of the sample) scored highest on stewardship ethics and were most interested in soil health and innovative practices.
*The purposeful (deliberative) farmers (27%) are also conservation-oriented, but cited high levels of perceived agronomic and economic barriers to practice adoption compared to other groups. This, said the researchers, pointed to a need for outreach focused on helping such farmers increase their confidence and capacity to overcome these barriers.
*The productive driven (18%) placed the greatest importance on high yields and use of the latest seed, chemical and equipment technology, and emphasised efficient input use.
*The traditionalists (27%) were least interested in innovative soil health and field practices, least trusting of all information sources except for commodity groups, and their conservation practice use was motivated primarily by concern about compliance provisions and regulations.
There were other differences between types. One was that the conservationist group reported the highest levels of quality of life, while the productive group reported the lowest levels.
Another study highlighted four main motivational drivers: a desire for economic advantage and a fear of economic need; a hope of reward and fear of failure; a feeling of accomplishment and a fear of a lack of recognition; and a need to remain busy. This study identified five farmer behaviour types:
- Family orientation: Farmers in this category are sensitive to environmental issues. Stewardship, working alongside family and passing on a viable business to the next generation take priority. This group tended to be content with the prevailing institutional and communal outlook on farming. They did not feel neglected or marginalised.
- Business/entrepreneur: These farmers view farming strictly as a business, are professional, and score high on quality of achievement, expansion, investment, debt avoidance, and staff management. However, they also felt that they had been marginalised despite doing a worthwhile job in the community. This led to dissatisfaction with the situation in the industry.
- Enthusiast/hobbyist: Their main occupation and source of income is something other than farming. They score high on diversification and low on profit and financial aspects. High scores on quality of life and leisure suggest they are more concerned about reducing workload and spending time with family and friends away from the farm.
- Lifestyler: They score high on family standard of life, suggesting that they are farming to increase family income to maintain their standard of living. But they also try to balance high income with reduced workload and more time with family and friends. They are acutely aware of the uncertainty associated with farming and need for security and investment as well as staff management. A low level of job satisfaction and a high score for marginalisation suggests that they feel let down by the government and society at large.
- Independent/small farmer: They also score high on family standard of living, but are less concerned about quality of life and leisure than about job satisfaction and being independent. The members of this group were rather indifferent to profit and financial aspects. Interestingly, they did not feel marginalised.
