Horti-Business Management (2+0)

Steps in planning process

Planning is a continuous process. It involves a recurring pattern of sequence of steps / stages. The steps in planning process are;

• Decide objectives – Based on the available recourses, ability to borrow / hire resources and the market conditions the farmers can fix objectives to be achieved in a year or medium or long term. Generally profit maximization is fixed as an objective.
• Analyze opportunities – The farmer has to decide which crops to cultivate during the current year. Generally few crops could be considered for cultivation based on the soil, water and climatic factors. Besides, awareness about technologies for cultivation, consumer demand and expected prices etc., are considered for analyzing the possible crops that could be cultivated.
• Evaluate available alternatives – The available set of crops / enterprises could be evaluated by analyzing the technical, commercial, managerial and financial feasibility.
• Select the most appropriate alternative – based on the evaluation of various options, the final choice of crops or enterprises are decided.
• Implement the plan – The plan has to be meticulously implemented by involving employees. The experiences gained while implementing the plan forms the feedback which is considered while preparing the plan for subsequent years.