Volume 12, Number
15
December 4, 2009
The Farmer
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The Systems Approach to Farm Management
By Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad
The “systems approach” is defined as a problem solving methodology which
begins with a tentatively identified set of needs. It has as its result, an
operating system for efficiently satisfying a set of needs which are acceptable
or “good” in light of trade-offs among needs and the resource limitations
that are accepted as constraints in the given setting (Manetch and Park, 1982).
There are two prominent attributes of the approach: 1) it overtly seeks to
include all factors which are important in arriving at a “good” solution to
the given problem; and 2) it makes use of quantitative models, and often
computer simulation of those models, to assist in making rational decisions.
This framework will be used to help the farm manager “break down” his task
into conceptual parts, then put those parts back together again to establish a
“system” that works for his managerial needs.
The major phases of the approach are: feasibility evaluation, abstract
modeling, implementation design, implementation and system operation. As seen in
Figure 1, the movement of the process is from a set of needs to be satisfied (at
the top) toward an operational system (at the bottom) capable of satisfying the
needs which exist. The solid lines and arrows indicate the path of flow through
the process as you move through the sequence of functions which must be carried
out in order to achieve system objectives.
Feasibility Evaluation has as its goal the generation of a set of
feasible system “alternatives” capable of satisfying needs which have been
identified. The steps in feasibility evaluation are reproduced in Figure 2.
Feasibility evaluation begins with a careful analysis of needs to determine
whether the needs do, in fact, exist and if they do, to state them in an
operationally useful form. (For instance, we say in the Ministry of Agriculture
of the Nation of Islam, that we want to supply the black people in America with
one meal a day according to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. This
goal to satisfy the need is both limited by what are the foods that we should
and should not eat along with the logistical problem of producing and
distributing these food products to 40 million or more people spread out over an
area 2,000 by 3,000 miles. Therefore, each of our future farm managers will
be doing their part to satisfy this need and must know how they fit into the
overall “system”.) The “output” of Feasibility Evaluation is a set of
realizable alternatives which appear capable of satisfying the identified needs.
Implementation Design has as its purpose to completely specify the
details of system and/or management strategy designed in the abstract during the
modeling phase. “Completely specify” means developing a complete set of
instructions that will lead to the operationalization of the desired system.
This would include specifying the necessary preparations for implementation
including data and budgetary needs along with the procedures for accomplishing
specific functions.
Implementation is to give physical existence to the desired system. In
this case the system is the farm. Since the systems approach is iterative,
information developed in this phase on the workability of the system would act
as feedback for the modifications needed for implementation of a Working
System.
Similarities between the steps in the systems approach and Johnson’s (1977)
problem solving model (Figure 3 below) indicate the generic nature of both
processes. Also, the systems approach can be observed to coincide with the basic
thesis development i.e., problem statement (feasibility evaluation),
investigating how others have brought light to the problem in the form of a
literature review (developing a set of feasible solutions), developing of model
to be tested
(abstract modeling), statistical methods and hypothesis testing
(implementation design), analysis and recommendations (implementation). However,
the systems approach goes further and actually involves the decision-maker or
those who will be affected by the system to participate in its development. This
is why we in the Ministry of Agriculture try to involve its members in all
phases of development of the system that will satisfy the stated needs as
expressed in our Mission Statement.
The systems approach makes the assumption that it is the end user and not a
so-called “expert” that will determine the adequacy of the system outputs.
This is important when dealing with a normative (subjective) discipline such as
economics where the role of the professional is to educate the manager, but
learn from other theorists. However, our research assumes that there already
exists “successful farm managers” and that we can learn from what they do.
Another benefit of the systems approach to very unstructured problems is the
introduction of detailed diagrams which guides the decision-maker and helps to
prevent the exclusion of necessary parts to complete the working system. This
does not mean that no parts can be omitted either knowingly or unknowingly, but
diagramming the process helps to focus on the essentials. “Mistakes do not
exist in the Nation of Islam”. Mistakes happen, but through proper analysis
and learning from those mistakes, we do not repeat the same mistakes over and
over again. If we leave out a step in our problem solving techniques, we should
be aware that we did and watch for repercussions from those omissions to further
test the process going on in our heads.
The Farm System
A “system” is a set of interconnected elements organized toward a goal or
set of goals (Manetch and Park, 1982). A basic systems model along with
definitions of component parts is given in Figure 4. The systems approach forces
a conscious recognition of what is and is not
under the manager’s control and who are the relevant managers of that
system.
The “Farm System” shown in Figure 5 includes the farm/family with its
different production enterprises and consumption units which transform land,
labor, and capital into outputs such as production, income, cash balance,
consumption, education, net worth and debt. The transformation process is
determined by the design parameters of the system which consists of land are,
soil productivity, labor availability, input availability, input/output
coefficients, and per-capital consumption. The controllable inputs under the
direct influence of the manager are levels and types of production, marketing
strategies, and investment policies. The “System Environment” includes those
inputs which are exogenous to the system or outside of the direct influence of
the manager including: weather, the biological process itself (except for
genetic engineering), output prices, input prices, government programs, wage
rates, interest rates, and credit availability. Although the manager may not be
able to directly influence these factors, knowledge of them and their probable
directions is needed to make adjustments in his farm system. In other words, a
careful study of history will reward our research. Therefore we must develop the
historical timeline that brings us to the agricultural and economic environment
that we must work in and as awakened Muslims must work to change.
