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D-contract-farming Dictionary

Contract farming

Production under an agreement that fixes the buyer and often supplies inputs on credit

All termsIntroduced in Module 2Open the Toolkit
An open dictionary on a farm office desk
Plain meaning
Production under an agreement that fixes the buyer and often supplies inputs on credit
How to use it
Compare the contract price after input deductions with the open-market price. The contract trades some upside for finance and a certain buyer.
South African benchmark
South African barley, seed maize and processing potatoes are grown largely under contract (Articles 11 and 45).
Country notes
Zimbabwe's tobacco and cotton are mostly contract-farmed; about 91% of Zimbabwe's 2026 tobacco crop sold through contract floors.
Go and read
C2 Lesson 2.3
Calculate it
T-M19-03 Contract Grower Income
Library sources
LIB-A019
See also
Off-taker, Side-selling, Outgrower
Twelve-month cash flow showing money out before money in and the lowest cash pointTwelve months of cash: money out first, money in laterJFMAMJJASONDRed dot: the lowest cash point, the working capital you must fundMoney in (sales)Money out (inputs, labour, loan)Running cash balance
From Module 2, Money for the Farm, where this term is introduced.

Introduced in C2 Money for the Farm.