01
Market and crop
Define the customer, quality specification, harvest window, lead crop and rotation before fixing the production system.
01Farm planning
Plan the commercial farm before choosing systems or suppliers.
Define the production goal, market, crop, site, water, utilities, scale and implementation window as one coherent project brief. Local constraints should shape the concept before equipment choices begin.
Direct answer
Plan the commercial farm before choosing systems or suppliers.
Commercial farm planning starts with the market and production objective, then tests whether the site, water, climate, power, permits, logistics and budget can support them. The output is a documented project basis—not a supplier shopping list.
Decisions before the next stage
Build the evidence before requesting proposals.
02
Land and climate
Record coordinates, elevation, usable area, wind, temperature, humidity, rainfall and frost exposure.
03
Water and utilities
Confirm lawful water access, tested quality, sustainable flow, storage, drainage, power and backup requirements.
04
Scale and phasing
Separate gross land from productive area and decide what must operate in phase one versus later expansion.
Local market evidence
Apply the stage to the project location.
Public institutional facts are shown with their sources. The planning note beneath each fact is SeedMatch guidance, not a claim made by the cited institution and not a supplier quotation.
Spain
Almería's greenhouse area reached 33,464 ha in the 2022/23 campaign (+1.9%), with 3,423,738 t produced under greenhouse.
Cajamar — Análisis de la campaña hortofrutícola de Almería 2022/2023 (Plataforma Tierra)Planning application: Use the scale of Almería's protected-crop cluster as market context, then verify the actual site's water, labour, grid and logistics conditions.
Spain local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsRomania
Government Decision HG 325/2025 approved the "Tomata 2" de minimis scheme for vegetables grown in protected spaces (greenhouses and polytunnels) for 2025–2027.
Revista Ferma, citing HG 325/2025 (Monitorul Oficial nr. 304/2025)Planning application: Treat protected-crop support as operating context only; do not use it as evidence that a commercial build is funded.
Romania local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsMorocco
"Generation Green 2020–2030", launched in February 2020, is the national agricultural strategy succeeding the Green Morocco Plan (2008–2020).
Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture — Génération Green 2020-2030Planning application: Align the project concept with the current national strategy, while independently testing water, export-market and site assumptions.
Morocco local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsOman
The Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy towards 2040 (SARDS 2040) is the government's framework for crop-sector competitiveness and agricultural water management.
Government of the Sultanate of Oman, SARDS 2040 (FAOLEX)Planning application: Resolve the lawful water source and permit path before freezing crop area or production targets.
Oman local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsZambia
Cabinet approved the Comprehensive Agriculture Transformation Support Programme (CATSP) — Zambia's second National Agriculture Investment Plan, 2024–2033 — in April 2024.
Presidential Delivery Unit, ZambiaPlanning application: Relate the crop plan to national priorities without assuming that a stated target creates finance, offtake or project approval.
Zambia local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsCabo Verde
Agriculture contributes about 8% of GDP with 18% of the population in primary production; limited land, soil erosion and fertility loss are listed constraints.
Climate-Smart Agriculture in Cabo Verde country profile (UNECA / CIAT)Planning application: Start with water availability, land limits and soil constraints before selecting scale or protected-crop technology.
Cabo Verde local market guide: permits, water, suppliers, costsInstitutional sources checked 4 October 2026. Programmes, budgets and regulations change; verify current terms with the issuing authority.
UK, Cyprus and Europe
These links contain SeedMatch planning guidance and clearly labeled estimates. They are not presented here as institutional market facts.
Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese
Continue through the existing localized buyer pages and tools; market rules still need country-level verification.
Stage checklist
Ready to move forward?
- Target market and crop programme are written down.
- Land status, productive area and access are documented.
- Water source, rights, flow and laboratory analysis are available.
- Climate, power, logistics and permit assumptions have owners.
- The project is at or above SeedMatch's USD 250K commercial threshold.
Relevant SeedMatch pages
Agricultural planning checklistCapture the 15 inputs needed before an RFQProject readiness assessmentIdentify missing site and project evidenceSeed and crop planning toolsCalculate seed rate, cost, yield and storage inputsAgricultural calculator hubFind greenhouse, irrigation, crop and finance tools
Next journey stage
Greenhouse design
Translate the project basis into a performance-led greenhouse and growing-system brief.