By Amy Grundling

​A business plan is a road-map that indicates the necessary steps that must be implemented to ensure future successes. The key to an efficient business plan is in the quality of the outlay, i.e. no spelling mistakes, correct grammar usage, appropriate language use and the structure etc.
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Important subjects need to be addressed in a business plan. This includes a description of the business, a strategic plan, an operational plan, a market analysis, a financial plan and a risk analysis. When writing a business plan, it is important to consider who your target audience is. The target audience will be influenced by the reason the business plan is written.
A few reasons include: 

1. Supporting finance applications.
2. Determining the feasibility of a projects.
3. Evaluating the success of the current business.
4. Attracting potential investors.
5. Developing a medium- and long-term strategic plan.

This is an example of a business plan layout and what should be included in it:
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1. Cover Page
Title
Full name of the business
Physical and postal address
Telephone and fax numbers, email address
Date of plan

2. Table of Content
List of headings & page numbers
Graphs, figure and tables
References
Annexure

3. Executive Summary
Highlights
Purpose of the Business Plan

4. Description of the farming Business

• Background Information:

• Business owner
• Type of business
• Location of property
• Size
• Enterprises on the farm
• Farm Map

• Brief farm history
• Assessment of the current situation:

• Finances
• Marketing
• Operation

• Human resources

5. Strategic Plan
Vision, Mission & Goals
-Scan the Environment:
•     Close competitors
•     Infrastructure
•     Resources
-Industry and Market Analysis:
•     International
•     National
•     Market Share
•     Size of the industry
•     Critical Issues
-Competitive Environment
-External factors:
•     Politics
•     Economics
•     Social Environment
•     Environmental
•     Legal
-Internal Factors
•     SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

6. Operational & Product Plan
(Ownership and organisational structure)
Farm map and land use
Facilities and land use
Production choice and processes
Equipment
Technology choices
Enterprise Budget
Production and operations schedule
Value chain analysis

7. Marketing Plan
Describe the six P’s:
•     Product
•     Price
•     Promotion
•     Place
•     Process
•     People
Competitive Advantage
Written Contracts
Pricing Strategy
Market Risks

8. Organisation and Staffing Plan
Management Team:

• List or directors
• Consultants
• Advisers
• Professional Key Personal

Staff requirements and skills
Sourcing of staff
Structure & Responsibilities
Brief job description
Short CV’S of senior management (in annexure)

9. Financial Plan
​Financial Statements:

• Balance Sheet
• Income statement
• Cash flow projection

Projected Financial Statements

• Above Normal
• Normal
• Below Normal

Yield Scenarios
Financial Ratios
Capital Requirements
Investment Analysis
Identify source of funding
Repayment Analysis
Evaluation of alternatives

10. Risk Planning
Identification of risk:

• Production
• Financial
• Marketing
• Staff etc.

Probability of occurring and impact on enterprise
Risk mitigation strategies
Informal
Structured Risk Analysis
‘What-if’ Analysis
Sensitive analysis on Pricing and Production

11. Implementation and Monitoring
Develop an implementation plan and to-do list
Responsibilities and timeline
Establishing monitoring and control checkpoints
Keep records
Review progress
Feedback and evaluations dates

12.List of References 
13.Annexure  

By Amy Grundling 

The Carbon Tax Act came into effect from 1 June 2019, aiming to decrease South Africa’s carbon emissions. The Carbon Tax Act will contribute towards achieving the objectives of the National Climate Change Response Policy of 2011 (NCCRP) and South Africa’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.

The NCCRP provides the general policy structure for facilitating the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy.  In order to achieve these objectives, the South African government uses Carbon Tax to change the market behaviour of the consumers and producers. As indicated in the Explanatory Memorandum on the Carbon Tax Bill of 2018, an emissions trading system (ETS) is currently unsuitable due to the dominance of the carbon emissions by only a few oligopolistic companies. Tax is also a financial instrument that is much easier to administer and regulate. 

A headline carbon tax of R120 will be levied on fuel combustion, industrial processes and fugitive emissions, for every tons CO2 emission above the allowable threshold. However, during the first phase a relatively low carbon tax ranging between R6 and R48 per tons of CO2 will be allocated. The low carbon tax rate the result of the following allowances:  

1. A basic tax-free allowance of 60 %;
2. An additional tax-free allowance of 10 % for process emissions;
3. An additional tax-free allowance of 10 % for fugitive emissions;
4. A variable tax-free allowance for trade-exposed sectors (up to a maximum of 10 %);
5. A maximum tax-free allowance of 5 % for above average performance;
6. A 5 % tax-free allowance for companies with a Carbon Budget;
7. A carbon offset allowance of either 5 or 10 %.

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The low carbon tax rate and the exemption of the electricity sector allows companies to transition to cleaner technology before the second phase starts. From 1 January 2023, the second phase of carbon taxation will come into effect, by increasing the headline carbon tax rate of R120 annually by consumer price inflation (CPI).
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The Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors are also exempt from the first implementation phase, due to measurement difficulties. Therefore, carbon tax will only affect the agriculture sector indirectly through higher fuel prices. The increased fuel prices will have a great effect on our food prices due to the long distances agricultural products usually needs to travel in the value chain. Not only will the increased food prices influence South Africa’s food security but also farmers profit margins due to increased input cost.

Decreasing carbon emissions is a priority that all countries should partake in. However, the South African government needs to administer and allocate the extra carbon tax revenue wisely. The carbon tax revenue should be reinvested to promote and excel a greener economy that will benefit all South Africans.