A buyer tells you his price. Is it good?
Most farmers answer by thinking about last year, or what a neighbour got. That tells you about the market. It does not tell you the thing that matters:
What did that bag cost you to grow?
How to work it out
Take one farm, one season. Add up everything:
- Seed or seedlings
- Fertiliser and medicine for the plants
- Workers you paid — clearing, weeding, harvest, carrying
- Your own days of work. If you worked 30 days, and a worker costs 2,500 francs a day, that is 75,000 francs. Leave it out and you are hiding the truth from yourself.
- Bags, rope, drying, storage
- Transport to the buyer
- The small fees on the road
Now divide that total by the number of bags that farm gave you.
That is your cost for one bag.
Now the price means something
- Price is more than your cost — the farm gained, and you know how much.
- Price is the same as your cost — you worked the whole season for nothing.
- Price is less than your cost — you paid the buyer to take your crop.
Most farmers have never done this. That is why a bad price can feel normal.
When you know your number, you can say no. And you can say why. That is a different talk with a buyer.
It also shows you what to fix
Two farmers can have the same cost for one bag for different reasons. One spends on fertiliser. One spends on transport.
Look at your list. Find the biggest cost. Fix that one first. That is where the same work brings the most money.