QUAIL FARMING AND THE STRATEGY OF PRODUCTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT: AN EXPERIENCE OF A NIGERIAN CIVIL

SERVANT-FARMER

BY TANKO AHMED fwc

This is a full-length and upgraded version of an earlier chapter of a book published by the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom – Nigeria with this reference: Ahmed, T. (2008), ‘Quail Farming: An experience of a civil-servant’, Chapter 13, In Usman, M., et al. (ed.). Quail Production in the Tropics. Vom, NG: NVRI. ISBN-978-166-717-6

ABSTRACTION

• Civil servants could employ business strategy and utilize their available time for profitable venture like quail farming.

• This paper discusses way and means of employing strategy to plan and benefit from time management and profitable ventures.

• The concepts and theories of business enterprise are adopted in the construction of entrepreneurship attitude among civil servants working for government and communities in Nigeria.

A CASE STUDY

• A case study of quails farming provides lessons and templates for hard work and reward in viable ventures.

• The paper strongly recommends the inculcation of entrepreneurship among individuals and in government programmes, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION‘The Spirit of Enterprise’

– Anonymous

Background

• The employment of strategy – getting things done optimally – in the way we manage activities of our lives is worthwhile and particularly beneficial.

• The spirit of enterprise or motivation for success in ventures, within every one of us provides an energetic drive in pursuance of various activities for our individual, group, community or societal growth.

• Such efforts are basis for positive contributions to the general progress of our immediate surroundings, and the nation at large.

The Use of Strategy

• This paper discusses the use of strategy in the way we plan and run our activities.

• The emergence, performance, survival and progress of any enterprise or venture are further determined by the original idea or motivation of its formation, structure, organization, functions and relevance, as well as, its management system.

• The ‘strategy’ employed for achievement of these set goals is very crucial in getting things done.

Realities of Environment

• The socio-economic and political environment, within which enterprises are created and sustained, in turn, influence all these factors.

• We should always consider the realities of the situation we found ourselves, in taking decisions and putting into practice, in pursuance of our activities.

Value of Enterprise• An enterprise is any activity directed at making

profit; it is often considered as organized business ventures aimed specifically at growth and profit.

• As a venture, an enterprise may be described as a new, often risky activity requiring confidence and initiative embarked by an entrepreneur or somebody who ventures into something new.

• It sums up a project or undertaking that may be difficult or requires effort in resourcefulness including the selection of any idea that can be translated into a planned and satisfactorily implemented activity.

Commonsense and Entrepreneurship

• Olufisayo (2013) explains that in order to ensure ideas are materialized and sustained, the entrepreneur creates an enterprise utilizing and controlling the available economic and human resources.

• This is done through idea identification, planning, implementation, successful completion of an activity and accepting the reward.

• These steps determine the ‘commonsense’ required for going into any challenging and profit making venture, like quail farming.

Theory of Business Enterprise• The directing force or drive, which animates the material base

or framework of any modern society, is its industrial or business enterprises or ventures of various sizes, big and small.

• The theory of business enterprise devised by Thorstein Veblen (1904) is one of the oldest assumptions of economic activities still in use and going strong.

• It holds that enterprises are the basis for growth as determined by the strategy behind their formation; the spirit that drives them; and result orientation.

• The theory emphasizes on the tools of enterprise to include intent and motivation, goal setting, inputs provision, factors of production, marketing or distribution of outputs, and general management.

DEFINITIONS OF

TERMS

Quail Farming

• Quails are small poultry birds with meat and eggs of delicacy and nutritional value.

• Quail farming is the rearing and breeding of quails as a ‘farming enterprise’.

• Quail products are highly cherished; its farming more rewarding due to higher rate of egg laying, smaller floor space, less feed consumption; and no vaccination or deworming required, http://ebookbrowse.com.

Strategy

Strategy is a carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal or the art of developing or carrying out such a plan.

Spirit of Enterprise

• An ‘enterprise’ is a project or venture undertaken or to be undertaken; that is important, but also difficult; and require boldness, energy, organization and commitment to get through.

• The ‘spirit of enterprise’ is the motivation, power or drive to set up and succeed in an enterprise or venture http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Civil Servant

A Civil (or Public) Servant is a government employee or worker employed to serve on a regulated terms of service, including times for resumption and closure of work.

Time Management

• Time is a limited period that an action, process, or condition exists or takes place - a dimension enables the arrangement and management of events or activities aimed at given ends.

• Time management involves planning and control over the amount of time saved or spent on specific activities, especially productivity.

• Time management is a form of project management (PMI, 2004); viewed in connection to social issues such as the family, roles and amount of labour by an individual (Buck, et el, 2000); and used as an investable asset.

THE NIGERIAN SITUATION

The Land of Opportunities

• The Nigerian situation is blessed with opportunities for any individual or group, no matter the hurdles, including Civil Servants of all categories.

• In the available opportunities and challenges, the poultry industry has emerged, performed, survived and is progressing remarkably.

• In recent years, industrious individuals discovered and ventured into the practicality and profitability of operating poultry projects, sometimes at the backyard of their homes.

Inspiration for Quail Farming

• These crops of farmers produce meat, eggs and other by-products, supplementing and strengthening the protein requirements in the food chain.

• From the simple intent to augment income, these enterprises also demonstrate the potentials for creating wealth and prosperity.

• Within the Poultry Industry, other new horizons and challenges appear from time-to-time.

• The Codex Farms featured in this paper is mainly dedicated to Quail Farming.

THE CODEX QUAIL FARM

The Farm

• The Codex Farm, dedicated to the production and improvement of quail meat, eggs, and by-products, is situated in a village in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria.

• With nine rooms, it has a capacity for at least 5,000 quails, employing five people.

• The farm commenced in 1992 through the research and development activities of the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) Vom, Plateau State.

From Backyard to Farm House

• The Farm began with only 20 birds obtained from the NVRI Poultry Farm, and an overdraft of N1,500.00 (one thousand, five hundred naira only) from a salary account with the then Savannah Bank branch of Kaduna Vom.

• The Farm gradually progressed from a backyard pen to a full-fledged farmhouse with workers and equipment making a turnover equivalent to many years’ salary of the entrepreneur.

THE CIVIL SERVANT FARMER AND TIME MANAGEMENT

The Civil Servant-Farmer

• The Nigerian Civil Servant is about the luckiest in the whole wide world.

• At least, the Government employs and pays its workers for 24 hour a day, seven days a week and throughout the year, including leap year.

• Yet, the hardest working Civil Servant cannot put in more than 20% of the total time engaged and paid by the employer.

• No matter how hard you try, you cannot go beyond, even if you are allowed to do so by both your employer and colleagues at work.

Time Management

To understand how much free time an average Nigerian Civil Servant enjoys, let us consider the following simple free-time analysis of free working days at weekends, annual leave and Public Holidays in a single year:2 days Weekend x 52 in a Year = 104 Days30 Working Days Annual Leave = 30 “Public Holidays = 12 “ Total Work-Free Days = 146 Days or 40% of 365 days

Time Analysis 1• In addition to the 146 free-working days, the balance

(365 minus 146) of 219 working-days of the year are 8-hour days, that is, only one-third of each day is put into work; so Nigerian Civil Servants actually work for only (219 /3) or 73 full-days, which is less than 20% of the total 365 full-paid days in a single year.

• Even at this rate, only the perfect, willing and permitted workaholic Civil Servant coming to work every working day, for every second of the 8-hour day, without casual or sick leave and other excuses, will be able to put in the less than 20% of actual working time.

Time Analysis 2• Now, the issue here is what to do with the 80% free time. • For sure, this is too much free time for even the perfect,

willing and permitted workaholic Civil Servant. • As for the entrepreneur, the free time is an investible asset

going into positive, productive, noble and legal activities like Quail Farming.

• This will in no way interfere with the normal work of the Civil Servant-Farmer, as long as prudent ‘time management’ including deliberate planning and allocation of what to do and when are employed.

• This is the strategic basis for entrepreneurship of the Civil Servant-Farmer which can be replicated in any other enterprise, with time as an indispensable asset subjected to prudent management.

INTENT AND

MOTIVATION

Defined Intention• Before you go into any venture, you have to decide

on clearly defined intention from where you can seek for motivation to propel yourself in achieving your set goals.

• Quail farming is new in this part of the world, many people do not even know of its existence neither have they ever seen the bird itself.

• As new, and risky, as Quail farming can be, the intention was at first to try something new in town and along the way, of course, to avail oneself access to fine meat, eggs, and hopefully profit.

Motivation as Driving Force

• For motivation, apart from the encouraging activities of the National Veterinary Research Institute, in helps livestock farmers, no one was initially interested in the venture, in most cases, not even one’s immediate family members.

• So, one may therefore, be completely alone from the beginning, pushed mainly by sheer urge for adventure or enterprise.

• This would be the picture before one crosses the line and made a breakthrough.

STARTING A QUAIL FARM

Starting

• Starting a quail farm is not much different from that of other poultry birds, like chicken.

• It involves the same housing, production and marketing methods for meat and eggs.

• There are however three fundamental challenges with starting a quail farm.

Challenges• Firstly, unless you have your own money on the ground, nobody

will give you money if you mentioned that you are going into Quail farming, especially the banks. This is simply because you will not be able to provide proof of making quick, easy and plenty returns.

• Secondly, there is no ready-made market for quail products like that of chicken meat and eggs. In some cases, to get market for quail products you have to be armed with enough wits, guts and patience to convince people to buy pet stones along with feeds for the stones.

• Thirdly, the quail bird itself is so sensitive and temperamental that a mistake in stress management can affect its growth, production, lifespan and performance.

• Overall, it is an experience worth the time of anyone daring enough to venture into Quail Farming.

QUAIL FARM MANAGEMENT

Management Principles• The success of any enterprise depends on its management

process. • The basic principles or functions of management including

planning, implementation and control must therefore be adhered to in achieving set out objectives.

• Planning involves the process of selecting a particular strategy or line of action from various available alternatives with the aim of achieving given goals or objectives;

• Implementation involves the acquisition of the required resources to put your given plan into action, and;

• Control involves performance evaluation to determine conformation to your plan and taking corrective measures to improve.

Managing Quails• The efficient observation and use of these basic

principles will produce the desired result in any enterprise.

• A good farm, like any other enterprise, should be run strictly on good management principles and practices.

• A quail farmer should therefore set his or her goals clearly; provide the required structures and equipment for the birds; develop and nurture the stock; produce the required quantity and quality of meat, eggs and other outputs; develop and sustain market for such products, and; keep accurate and useful records of activities.

GOALS OF A CIVIL SERVANT-FARMER

Set Goals of the Civil Servant-Farmer• The goals of every farmer, particularly a Civil

Servant/Quail Farmer, should include the maximization of profits or returns; increase in net worth or wealth creation; ownership and control of a larger farm or outfit and avoidance of low return or losses.

• Also included are reduction of borrowing needs; improvement on standard of living and general comfort; having a neat and well-kept farmstead; provision of employment to others; community services, and the satisfaction of owning and running a quail farm.

Self-Actualization• A functional, independent and economically viable outfit

like the Codex Quail Farm would create sizeable income and employment opportunities for others.

• At the end of it all, job satisfaction and security of tenure at work are enhanced by the thought of something to fall back on in case of eventualities.

• As Professor Eghosa Osagie (1995) would say: ‘Help the Government to keep oneself comfortable, willing and ever-ready to serve, without the need or urge to steal, and sometimes even contribute in office expenditure whenever necessary’.

BUILDING AND

EQUIPMENT

Quail Housing

• Housing, farmstead structures and equipment for quails are designed and constructed on the same principles as that for other poultry.

• Housing must cater for adequate space, cleanliness, ventilation, pest control and general comfort for the birds.

• The farmstead must provide for facilities and amenities like adequate water, electricity or any form of lighting, good shedding (trees) and damp resistant floors.

Quail Equipment• Equipment like brooders, heaters, feeders, drinkers,

incubators, etc., must be readily available at all times for smooth operations.

• These items must be maintained accordingly. A number of leaflets and other literature in form of books, conference or workshops papers are available and are very simple to follow.

• The NVRI, Vom has produced a series of such literature on quails production and kerosene incubators most of which are cited in the other chapters of this book.

The Codex Farmstead

• The main farmstead of Codex Quail Farms was built on an area of 2,500 square feet (or 50 x 50 feet) land space containing nine rooms for storage, brooding, and bird stock.

• It consists of a central space, trees for shedding, wells for provision of water and facilities for workers.

• Also equipment like feeders, drinkers, brooders, incubators, etc., are designed, built or adapted to suit the sizes of the quail birds.

QUAIL STOCK

Developing A Quail Stock

• The initial quail-stock of the Codex Farm was obtained from the NVRI Poultry, Vom.

• With a handful of birds, we practice and improved on our ability and capacity to run and sustain the farm more efficiently.

• Thereafter, the Farm obtained some fertile eggs and one kerosene incubator from the same source.

• Today the farm has graduated into the use of automated electric incubators and providing for, not only its own improved stock, but for others.

Categories of Quail Stock• The Codex Farm keeps three categories of quail-stock for

its operations including parents stock for breeding; grower stock for meat production, and layer stock for eggs.

• The parents are subjected to regular selection, matching and weeding, for improvements in the desired production lines; growers are specifically fattened for meat production; and layers are all females, kept for production of fresh table eggs only.

• The Codex Farm is amongst the very few quail farms producing fresh table eggs, for eating, not fertile for hatching.

QUAIL PRODUCTION

Production Process• Production is the process of efficient conversion of a

farm’s basic inputs like stock, feeds, labour and other related items into basic outputs or products like meat, eggs and manure.

• The handling of this process determines, whether you are successful or not, is the venue for management tricks.

• Our production process is therefore guided by the knowledge, skills, and experience acquired over the years through available literature, expert advice and innovations.

Production Monitoring• It is important to make improvements and breakthroughs

in stocks, production methods, disease control, equipment handling, packaging, marketing and finance, which are all interwoven into the production finesse.

• An effective method of monitoring production is employed through the introduction and maintenance of a Production Monitoring Chart.

• This chart carries, at-a-glance, monthly information on expenditure, production, income and daily events.

• It offers on the spot access to information and signs for alarms and ease of taking immediate decisions.

MARKETING QUAIL PRODUCTS

Deliberate Efforts

• Without available market for your products, the entire farm including production methods will go down the drain.

• For a farm to survive therefore there must be market for the items it produces.

• The quail meat and eggs are not products with ready-made markets like that of chicken.

• There must be deliberate efforts to obtain good market for such products even before you go into the process of producing them.

Branding Quail Products• At the initial stage, we had to distribute our products

free to prospective customers after which, they would place orders and gradually developed the love and habit for the irresistible quail meat and eggs.

• The free products were delivered with convincing messages; high quality meat, without fats; tasty, big and heavy eggs; well-dressed meat, ready-for-pot, in attractive packages, for preservation of taste for at least two weeks, and; packaged in our beautiful farm logo.

• We make door-to-door delivery system and payment schedule easy enough to attract and expand our clientele.

CUSTOMERS AND

CLIENTELE

Getting Customers

• Our customers are selected and prices of our products range between minimum of N75.00 and N150.00 to maximum of N120.00 and N200.00 for one dressed quail and one crate of quail eggs, depending on the status and affordability of the customer. (Please note that these are 2001 figures).

• Among our numerous customers are State Governors, Bank Executives, Businessmen and women, Civil Servants, neighbours and colleagues who have discovered and accepted the low cholesterol, low fat and invigorating value of quail meat and eggs as stated on our farm package and Logo.

• See sample of Codex Farm ‘package and logo’ sticker below:

Figure 1: ‘Package and Logo’ Sticker(Codex Farms ©)

Target Customers

• It is important to note here that Quail products are for the high-income earner who has too much to eat, susceptible to obesity, and naturally looking for exotic brand and class.

• Quail meat and eggs would take away the rich from chicken meat and eggs so that the poor can get more protein dose at lower price due to fall in demand and increase in production.

FINANCING QUAIL FARMING

Source and Use of Capital• Financial management process requires

consideration in sourcing and use of capital to finance any given business operation; analysis and choice of alternatives; risk bearing and management; and standard accounting practice that are not necessarily complicated.

• Our main sources of funds are personal savings and loans from Thrift Societies charging up to 10% monthly compound interest.

• The advantage of the latter is that it pushes you to work harder to earn more than 10% profit margin just to survive.

FARM RECORDS KEEPING

Proper Recordkeeping• To operate a farm without proper records is like going on a

journey without destination. • Organized farm operations must rely on both internal and

external flows of information on the past, present and expected performance for easy access and use, for decision-making.

• At the Codex Farm proper records from the drawing board to present stage of our operations are kept religiously in papers, files, booklets and electronic forms catalogued and arranged in drawers, cabinets, shelves, and computer hard disc.

• Our records include performance charts on production, marketing, building equipment, labour, finance, customer relations and accounts, and all other relevant activities necessary for the smooth operation of the farm.

CONCLUSION

A Summary

• Establishing and running a quail farm is a worthwhile venture.

• If a Civil Servant, who is tied down and committed to demanding duties, can plan and coordinate free-time to establish and run a quail farm successfully and profitably, then anyone out there can do it.

A Conclusion• In addition to creating wealth and making personal,

immediate family, friends and other members of the community more comfortable and secured, there is also the accomplishment of self-actualization in owning a production outfit, which gives pride and security of tenure.

• Opportunities are available for everyone ‘for-the-taking’ to contribute in the general struggle to make our nation great. In my small or big way, a civil servant can run the job effective and at the same time be a proud and comfortable quail farmer.

The Challenge or Recommendations• The challenge here is: ‘What can you do to yourself, family,

community, country and humanity at large? • Among the many projects introduced and run by the

National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, the Quail Project is one of the most successful and should not be allowed to deteriorate like similar noble ventures in many of our Research Institutions.

• It is hoped that the NVRI and similar institutions will establish, improve and sustain efficient Extension or Consultancy Units for projects of this nature.

• The paper strongly recommends the inculcation of entrepreneurship among individuals and in government programmes, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.

ReferencesBuck, M. L., et al. (2000), ‘Reduced load work and the experience of time among professionals and managers: Implications for personal and organizational life’ in C. Cooper & D. Rousseau (Eds.), Trends in Organizational Behavior (Vol. 7). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Olufisayo, O. (2013), ‘Meaning and Scope of Enterprise’ in The Secrets of Entrepreneurship, http://www.entrepreneurshipsecret.com Retrieved 8/4/13 Osagie, E. E. (1995), Opening Remarks by Professor Eghosa Osagie at the Self-Improvement Workshop for Staff of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies held at the Chapel of Salvation, August 15th. Project Management Institute – PMI - (2004), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). http://www.pmi.org Retrieved 4/12/12

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION

Contact:Tanko Ahmed, fwc

Senior Fellow (Security & Strategy)National Institute (NIPSS), Kuru-Jos, NIGERIA+234 803 703 1744 ta_mamuda@yahoo.com