PRE-ESTABLISHMENT

The experiences of the first student farmers trained by Songhai have proven that setting up a farm is a complicated process that cannot be accomplished immediately following Level I training. There is a transition phase between Level I and the entrepreneurship stage, where the student farmer must demonstrate creativity, learn to manage his own problems, and appropriate and internalize the human values expected of an entrepreneur.
A great deal is at stake during this period, and working closely alongside the young farmers is of utmost importance. Indeed, the continuance or abandonment of the activities by the young farmer depends heavily upon this follow-up, as the farmer can easily become discouraged by the difficulties he will inevitably encounter. It is obvious that the abilities required for starting an enterprise (a clear vision for the farm, courage, endurance, appropriate analysis of the socio-economic context, etc.) cannot be acquired within the 18-month periods of the Level I training. When the young farmer enters Level II, he often experiences a shock or a stress-laden situation, because he is learning to deal with difficulties and assuming responsibilities. It is therefore necessary to help him overcome these difficulties.

The areas of follow-up / accompaniment involve the following:

- The vision and the objectives of the farm, which demand that the farmer effectively plan his activities and seek strategies and means of turning his ideas into reality.
- An analysis of the physical environment (level of fertility, topography, climate, vegetation), with a goal of creating effective plans that have the best chance of success and that require a judicious decision on appropriate farming activities and the amount of land devoted to them.
- Organization and establishment in installation location.
- Technical support to improve economic revenue.
- Economic management (mastery and application, theories and elementary tools of accounting and management, such as cash books, day books, economic balance sheets, accounts management, treasury, budget, etc.).

On-site visits are the best means of accompanying the farmers through the pre-installation stage. The frequency and content of the visits vary from farmer to farmer. As each level is different, the situation requires that the person following-up tailor his visits to the individual needs of the farmer.

The different stages of a visit are as follows:

- Preparing the visit - before visiting a farmer, the officer ensures that the work to be done by him and by the farmer with respect to the last visit has been accomplished. He prepares the different documents and tools needed for the visit and checks carefully to see that the farmer's orders are ready (seeds, raw materials, veterinary products, photocopies).
- Inspecting the activities on the farm - the farmer explains to the follow-up officer the development of the farm's activities, taking him through the farm and showing him what has been done, the progress made and the difficulties encountered.
- Discussions - the follow-up officer, after reviewing and analyzing the farm's management, enters into discussions with the farmer to ascertain whether or not the farmer has implemented the advice of the previous visit, and to check that the files and management tools (cash book, day book, stock file, etc.) have been properly kept since the last visit. The discussions with the farmer give the officer the opportunity to offer advice and give suggestions that can help him overcome his difficulties. The officer may advice the farmer to visit other farms, seek a collaborator, etc.

Tools employed by the officer during visits:
-Individual follow-up files where previous visits have been documented.
- Technical and economic management files for animal and plant production.
- Sets of documents constantly upgraded by the documentation and information center to keep the young farmers well-informed on developments in agriculture around the world. They can then choose the sections of interest them and ask that photocopies be made and brought during the next visit.