Curriculum (PDF) - Biovision

Week 11
Topic Duration What you need for this lesson
1 Introduction to Profitability Analysis 2 hours All records, calculator, flip charts, marker pens;
Record samples of receipts and expenses on crops
and livestock enterprises; record sheets; and flip
charts/chalkboards, markers, exercise books, pens.
Introduction
This lesson aims to familiarize participants
with the basic methods of checking whether
a farming enterprise is making or losing
money.
This is what you would put in any activity
on your farm (Costs):
Money to buy inputs and pay hired
workers
The time your family and you spend on
that enterprise
This is what you get out of the enterprise
(income):
Use it yourself and not have to buy it
from the shop/market. You can then
save the money you could have spent
and use it for another enterprise
Sell produce from that enterprise
You need to keep proper records of what
you put in (cost) and what you get from any
farming enterprise (income or benefit) so
that you can know whether that enterprise
is making money, or making a loss for you.
This lesson will introduce you to two main
types of records called the costs and benefits
records. You will learn why you need
to keep them and how to use them.
Topic: Introduction to
Profitability Analysis
Learning objectives
On completion of this topic participants will
be able to:
Explain the importance of recording
costs incurred and benefits received
Compare the costs and the benefits of
two enterprises (Push-pull and Check
plots)
Learning activities
Facilitator-led introduction on the
importance of keeping receipts and
expense records
Exercise on provided examples of
receipts (revenues) and expenses
(costs)
Calculating total expenses and total
income
Discussion on record keeping
Recording expenses and receipts for
push-pull and Check plots
Step 1: Facilitate discussion on costs related
to farmers’ own practices and Push-pull
plots (seed, Napier, fertilizer, labour for
land preparation, planting, weeding, etc.)
Step 2: List all the possible costs in both the
Push-pull and Check plots.
Step 3: Facilitate discussion on possible
incomes related to farmers’ own practices
and Push-pull plots (yield, fodder, milk,
etc.).
Step 4: List all the possible incomes in both
the Push-pull and Check plots.
Step 5: Facilitate brief discussion on how to
keep good income records and how to
calculate the total income received.
Push-pull curriculum | 59