Planning

The eventual success of a project is almost always determined during the evaluation and planning stages.  Opportunities for cost savings and risk reduction are the greatest during the prefeasibility and feasibility phases, but decrease as the project moves toward completion.  Many projects fail to meet expectations because of inadequate planning, which may result in excessive changes, inadequate resources, and funding shortfalls during construction.  AgriVision’s Pre-Investment planning services are designed to help farm owners, developers, and investors identify and mitigate potential problems, by applying the most detailed planning at the earliest time possible.

 

Conceptual and Project Identification Studies

Conceptual studies are the first step in the agricultural project development cycle. Many times, farmers or investors may want to develop an agricultural project but need assistance in focusing and choosing the most appropriate agricultural field (vegetables, flowers, poultry, aquaculture, etc.)  Conceptual and identification study converts the initial idea to a tangible one by:

 

Study the local conditions in terms of climate, soil, water sources and quality and topography;

 

Identify the relative advantages and disadvantages of the potential site;

 

Propose specific project (s) for development;

 

Prepare a preliminary economic analysis for the proposed project;

 

Outline issues and options to be evaluated in the feasibility study at a later stage.

 

Feasibility Studies 

An initial and objective formulation of a feasibility study is extremely important. The feasibility study:

Provides the basis for critical decisions to be made by the owners, investors, and/or regulatory agencies regarding whether or not to proceed with the project;

serves as the basis for securing project financing;

Establishes the scope, schedule, budget, and execution plan for the project; and

Makes it possible, in the project development cycle, to dramatically reduce risks and make substantial changes at relatively low costs without adversely impacting the project development timeline.

When conducting feasibility studies, AgriVision manages the work of specialty consultants or contractors, if needed, and coordinates its own work with the contribution of the owner/investor to produce a study that:

Identifies site-specific issues;

Defines the agricultural methods and technologies to be used in the project;

Prepares an agricultural and production plan based on the relevant markets;

Prepares the project’s organizational and management structure;

Estimates required project capital and operating costs;

Presents the cash flow and economic evaluation of the project;

Examines the project for fatal flaws and presents sensitivity analysis;

Determines the required steps and timetable for project implementation.

 

Detailed Design 

Following the completion of the feasibility study and the decision to go ahead with the project, AgriVision will prepare a detailed design that:

Provides the final scope of the project;

Provides detailed engineering plans for the various elements of the project; water and irrigation systems, machinery, buildings, roads, drainage, etc.;

Provides updated agricultural growing and production plan;

Provides updated market evaluation;

Provides updated investment and production cost estimation;

Provides updated economic and financial evaluation and sensitivity analysis;

Develops a detailed execution plan and project schedule;

Independent Study Review 

While conducting Independent study reviews, usually on an owner’s or investor’s behalf, AgriVision will review conceptual, pre-feasibility or feasibility studies prepared by third parties to ensure the following:

Soundness of the project execution plan and project schedule;

Recognition of local conditions or other factors that could impact project performance;

Accuracy of the cost estimates and the economic evaluation;

Identification of issues or options to be addressed during the next phase of development;

Consideration of optional concepts or methods to optimize project cost and schedule performance; and

Validity of the study’s conclusions and recommendations