What is the concept of a feasibility study in Agribusiness?

A feasibility analysis is a method for evaluating the efficacy of a potential program or service, as well as establishing a basis and guide for its creation and implementation. It’s a tool for making informed choices and setting targets. It’s also a tool that’s motivated by study and analysis.

Focuses on analyzing, clarifying, and addressing key problems and areas of concern or ambiguity, typically requiring a form of consultation with partners, government, consumers, etc.
Often entails simple simulation and checking of various principles and methods.

A feasibility analysis would not have a standard format. Feasibility analyses may be customized to meet the particular criteria of each case. A feasibility analysis is intended to provide a high-level summary of the major problems around a market concept. The goal is to find any “make or break” challenges that could hinder any company from achieving commercial success. A feasibility analysis, in other words, decides whether a market plan is viable. A comprehensive feasibility report offers a wealth of data for the business strategy. For example, in order to assess the project’s feasibility, a detailed market study is needed.

The market segment of the business plan is built on this detail. Three main fields are explored in a feasibility study:

a) Market problems

b) Technical/organizational problems

c) Money problems

This is, once again, a “first cut” glance at these problems. A feasibility report, for example, does not provide comprehensive long-term financial forecasts, but only a straightforward break-even estimate to assess how much income is expected to fund operational costs.

What are the Benefits of Feasibility Studies in Agribusiness?

Bringing a project from its inception to its operating stage is a challenging and time-consuming process. The majority of market concepts, whether from a cooperative or an investor-owned company, do not become operational. Many of these proposals crash within the first six months of becoming operational. Until prospective members invest in a new business enterprise, they must first determine whether it is commercially viable, and then consider whether the benefits of investing outweigh the risks. The cost of carrying out such joint business ventures is very high. The ventures include activities that are separate from the members’ own companies. The activities of cooperative companies often pose threats that the founders are unfamiliar with. The research helps groups to get a sneak look at possible project results before choosing whether or not to proceed. While the costs of undertaking a study seem to be substantial, they are insignificant as applied to the overall project expense. A limited upfront investment in a feasibility study will help secure greater capital projects in the future. Feasibility studies are applicable to a wide variety of projects. The most prominent, but not the only, application is the evaluation of potential business ventures, both from new groups and existing businesses. Studies can assist companies in making decisions such as extending existing offerings, constructing or remodeling buildings, modifying organizational procedures, incorporating new goods, or even combining with another entity. When decision-makers need to explore alternate planning options, a feasibility analysis will help. Feasibility studies allow designers to map out their plans on paper before bringing them into effect.

This will expose project concept flaws until they have a negative impact on the project. Applying what you’ve learned from a feasibility report will help you save a lot of money on your idea.

The research explains the project’s costs and advantages such that future partners can determine them. Before a group agrees to go on with a proposal, there is no “magic number” or right rate of return that it must achieve. Individual members’ adequate levels of return and sufficient risk levels can differ based on their particular circumstances.

To become operational, the planned project normally needs both risk capital from participants and debt capital from banks and other financiers. Lenders usually demand an independent assessment of a project before investing. This appraisal may be made by a feasibility report undertaken by someone who has no involvement in the project’s progress.

The below are some of the general considerations and possible advantages of doing a feasibility study:

Starting a new business plan is daunting.
Taking a proposal from concept to operating level is a dynamic and time-consuming undertaking.
Most ideas, whether from cooperative or investor-owned companies, do not become operational.
The bulk of these proposals that make it to the operating level fail within the first six months.
Projects include corporate operations that are distinct from those of a single company.
These activities entail unknown threats.
A feasibility report helps organizations working on a business plan to have a sneak look into future project results before determining whether or not to explore it further.
While the expense of performing a study can seem substantial, it is almost always insignificant as compared to the overall project cost.
A small upfront investment in a feasibility study by a group will help protect bigger capital assets down the road.
A feasibility analysis is a valuable technique that can be used in a number of scenarios.

What a Feasibility Study Isn’t?

Feasibility tests are done on “real-life” projects. They aren’t studies or scholarly papers. Though helpful in some cases, simulations or prediction models do not replace a feasibility analysis. A proposal should not be viewed with a “cookie-cutter” approach. The analysis should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all source of data. Research can allow a community to make informed decisions for the strategic problems of their project after it is finished. A feasibility analysis isn’t the same thing as a business proposal. A strategic strategy is developed during the feasibility analysis in the project planning process. A strategic plan’s primary function is to act as a roadmap for the group’s business activities. The group’s expected solutions to the crucial concerns posed in the feasibility report are outlined in the business plan. The conclusions of the feasibility report act as the framework for designing a business plan.

The aim of a feasibility study isn’t to come up with new project proposals or principles. Before beginning a review, these concepts should be clearly defined. Before conducting a feasibility study, the community must perform a variety of activities. The more practical the conclusions are, the more beneficial the feasibility analysis would be to the community.

A feasibility analysis should not be used to endorse a hope for the project to succeed. The research should be a neutral assessment of the project’s chances of completion. Negative outcomes are almost as valuable to decision-makers as optimistic outcomes. Before issuing loans, lenders can require a feasibility report, but this should not be the only aim of the study. A feasibility analysis should help a banker assess a proposal, but its main objective should be to assist a group’s decision-making rather than to gain funds.

A feasibility report will not tell anyone whether or not anyone can go ahead with a proposal. Potential participants must determine if the financial benefits outweigh the costs inherent in continuing the initiative. The feasibility study’s findings help them in this endeavor. A feasibility analysis is an empirical instrument that presents the fundamental principles of a project proposal, illustrates how outcomes differ as these assumptions change, and advises on important project elements. It offers project-specific information to a community to aid in decision-making. Feasibility studies can help groups reduce the costs of pursuing a proposal.

Feasibility Research Scope in Agribusiness:

In general, a feasibility analysis for a project should include the following elements:

Need Analysis:

This means that the proposal has a need. The requirement could have an effect on the organization, another organization, the general public, or the government. The need is then verified and assessed by preliminary analysis. After that, a plan is made about how the need can be met. Here are a few main questions to think about:

Is the need substantial enough to explain the planned project?
Will the need still be there after the project is finished?
What are the other choices for fulfilling the need?
How does the need influence the economy, culture, climate, and politics?

Process Work:

This is a preliminary review to decide what would be needed to meet the requirement. The job should be done by a project consultant who is a specialist in the field.

Device models or designs are often used in preliminary research. Artist’s concepts and scaled-down models can be used to demonstrate the basic characteristics of a method in technology-oriented programs. Before the real project begins, a simulation of the planned method will be run to Engineering and architecture entails a rigorous technological review of the planned project. Suppliers and subcontractors are contacted for written quotes if requested. As required, technological capabilities are assessed. If necessary, product design should be completed at this stage to forecast the result.

Cost Estimation:

This entails calculating project costs to a degree of precision that is satisfactory. At this stage of a project schedule, levels of about -5 percent to +15 percent are normal. The expense calculation includes both the original and ongoing expenses. The cost estimation document may also include capital expenditure and ongoing and nonrecurring cost forecasts. A sensitivity analysis of the expected cost values may be performed to determine how resilient the project schedule is to the estimated cost values.

Financial Analysis:

This includes analyzing the project’s cash flow profile. Rates of return, inflation, capital sources, payback times, breakeven stage, residual prices, and sensitivity should all be included in the study. This is a vital study since it determines if or not funding will be available for the project and whether it will be available. The project cash flow profile contributes to the project’s economic and financial viability.

Conclusions and Recommendations:

The feasibility review should conclude with the project’s final result. This may be viewed as acceptance or rejection of the project. This portion of the feasibility study should provide suggestions on what should be done.

Impacts of the Proposed Project:

This part of the feasibility report measures the proposed project’s effects. Environmental, social, educational, political, and economic effects are some of the influences that may affect how the public perceives an initiative. The project’s value-added capacity should also be measured. A value-added tax may be levied on the basis of the product’s price and the cost of the raw materials used in its production. The earned tax could be considered a donation to the government’s treasury.

Feasibility Assessment Elements:

A feasibility assessment can begin by identifying the business concept, whether it is a new project, product, or service. The feasibility of the proposal or business plan will then be determined. The viability must take into account the proponent’s actual situation. Personal preparation, expertise, tools, information, and ambitions, for example, can all be considered by a company intender. Linkages to current lines of operation, clients, vendors, staff, and other stakeholders must all be considered for proven companies.

The following is the layout of a feasibility report in Agribusiness:

Summary of findings:

It offers a short summary of the assessment’s key issues, aiding in the development of an image of the plan and its recommendations. It should be succinct to contain the key conclusions addressed in the report’s main body.

Review of Needs:

The results of the need analysis provide meaning for the market proposition. It explores the idea’s logic as well as potential solutions. It ties the business idea to the actual scenario and assists in the appraisal of the business concept.

Engineering:

A description of the technological elements of the company concept, such as any improvements that need to be made to current systems or the need to add things to an existing product or service collection.

Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages and drawbacks of the company idea versus substitutes, such as competitive products; or, in the case of a novel design, its application to existing practices and unmet or future demand.

The market for Product Offerings:

Describe the number of buyers, the estimated volume and scale of typical purchases, and any cost savings resulting from the new product or service throughout the market. Any expectations about consumer buying behavior should be established so that their probability of being met or surpassed can be assessed. Competitive benefits, such as greater market share, cost efficiency, or higher pricing, can be the payoff for improvements in company operations. The following should be the subject of research:

Customers:

It must be specific about the kind of consumer will attract and why it will react to offering in research.

Determine can consumer segments or categories you want to target:

What is your understanding of your market categories or groups?
How many are there in total?
What are they going to buy?
How frequently will they purchase?
What would their typical purchase be?
Goods and Services:

Make a list of the products and services that’ll be selling to each category, as well as the prices consumers can pay for each.

Competitors:

Make a list of rivals and make a note of their potential strengths and weaknesses. It must comprehend that they are competitors to the proposed enterprise.

Consider the following question: How do you entice consumers away from them (i.e., your competitors)? Price alone should not be the determining factor; total pricing, product characteristics, delivery and promotion techniques, and after-sales choices should all be weighed.

Map:

Purchase a map and label it with the market’s borders, location, access routes, rivals, suppliers, and demographic details such as population and distribution.

Costing:

The cost of putting the company plan into action has been calculated. Calculate how long it will take anyone or anyone team to manufacture or procure the planned goods or services, as well as to supply them to clients, and how much that time will cost. Calculate the expense of purchasing, assembling, or producing them. This strategy should provide for the expenses that aren’t covered by the current operation.

This portion should explicitly state whether median or average costs were used to calculate costs for current companies. Assumptions should be reported, such as raw material costs, supply capacity, personnel expertise, plant and equipment, and so on. Alternative production/implementation costs should be factored into the report as well.

Providers:

Collect catalogs and price lists from preferred and alternative vendors.

Location:

Determine whether your location is leased, bought, or at home. Can you want more space than your current company provides? Why did you choose that location? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

Resources:

Assets and equipment that would be needed, as well as the cost of obtaining them, alternate methods of procurement, and so on, are analyzed. Outright rental versus hire purchase or other methods of leasing, for example.

Personnel:

What kind of manpower would you require? What abilities would they require?

Calculate the income from a certain amount of activities, the capital available, and how the capital can be obtained in order to start running.

Analysis of the Alternative Solution’s Risks:

Simple break-even analysis, i.e. the amount of business activity that ensures the business does not lose money, is one type of risk analysis. Based on the assumptions made in costing and market studies, the sophisticated analysis could consider different agribusiness scenarios.

Comparative Research:

The project’s goals should be expressed in the comparative analysis of alternatives. For different market situations, decision-making can be dependent on optimizing profit or reducing loss. Such options may be riskier, resulting in higher financial payoffs in some situations and possible losses in others; while others may be less costly, resulting in low financial gains or losses in a range of scenarios. You should then choose between a “high payoff but high risk of loss” option and a “low payoff with associated low risk” option in the light of goals, sector, and financial position.

Recommendations:

This section should contain recommendations for the chosen option, as well as a course of action, or a determination not to proceed. Going back to the drawing board, designing more promising solutions, doing further analysis to reduce the risk of failure, or pressing forward to create a detailed strategic strategy are both options.