The Philippines has been blessed and endowed with rich and abundant natural resources that we can use to thrive in the agricultural industry and become a global player in this field. We in Go Negosyo would like to inspire and encourage more aspiring entrepreneurs to venture into agribusiness and explore the wonders of its fruits.

Although two-thirds of the population is into agribusiness, it only accounts for about a third of our economy. We need to see more agri-producers become more entrepreneurial, to search for ways to improve their productivity and income, to bond together when feasible to create economies of scale, say, in farming, to try new technologies that will increase yields, to add value to their produce, to have direct links with the market and institutional accounts, and so on.

Agri-modernization and leveling up the value chain are important in seeing wealthier farmers and producers one day. We need higher value-added agricultural products to increase its contribution to the economy.

We recognize a growing number of entrepreneurs in the Go Negosyo community and have featured them in the Go Negosyo book on agri entrepreneurship. We are also fortunate to have leading advocates in the sector who are now in government, like Senator Cynthia Villar, who now heads the Senate Agriculture Oversight Committee, and newly installed Presidential Adviser on Agriculture Kiko Pangilinan.

Many Filipino entrepreneurs have also taken the path less traveled, not only to have agriculture as their business model but as an advocacy to promote agri-preneurship in the country.

As we promote opportunities in agri negosyo, join us in our forthcoming Agri Negosyo Summit on July 25 at the World Trade Center.

Meanwhile, let me share with you some success stories of inspiring and thriving agri-preneurs.

Senator Cynthia Villar

For years, Senator Cynthia Villar has been a strong advocate of Go Negosyo and its programs, especially the OFW and Family Summit that we have been holding for the past three years. Known as Mrs. Hanepbuhay, her social enterprise advocacies have been sustainable and relevant in solving environmental problems and above all, provide livelihoods to affected communities. In particular, she pioneered the conversion of water lily wastes that clogged the Las Piñas river into creatively produced baskets, vases, bags and footwear; and converted buko husk waste into coco coir for the rip-rapping needs of the property development sector. What is common is her ability to find solution to local waste problems, train and give processing equipment to communities, and find a continuing market for their produce through her Villar Sipag Foundation.

Secretary Kiko Pangilinan

Chairman for the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food in 2010, Secretary Kiko Pangilinan has supported Go Negosyo, especially during the launch of our Go Negosyo Agribook. By profession, agriculture and farming were out of his areas of expertise. He only had a cursory knowledge of the issues confronting Philippine agriculture. Armed with his vision of helping our farmers and fishermen, Sec. Pangilinan set up a program known as Sagip Saka. This advocacy program aims to achieve sustainable modern agriculture and food security by allowing agricultural communities to reach their full potential, improving farmers’ and fishers’ quality of life, and bridging gaps through public-private partnerships. Sec. Pangilinan believes that farmers are entrepreneurs too and must be equipped with the mindset, skills, and support structure to treat their farms as profitable enterprises.

Justin Uy (Profood International Corporation)

What seemed useless because of very little demand despite its abundance became Justin Uy’s key to entrepreneurial success. In the late 1970s, Cebu’s mango farmers often left ripe mangoes to rot on the ground for there was very little market demand compared to supply, especially during summer months. Justin saw what others did not —converting these mangoes into income. At 19, he and his family formed Jim-Jim Food products in 1978, which produced dried mangoes. They gave the farmers income while generating income of their own. In 1984, the family found another business opportunity by producing mango puree from fresh mangoes, hence forming Producer Food International. Today, Profood has plants in Cebu, Bulacan, Davao, and Iloilo to absorb and process the output of farmers around the country, and is exporting its products to more than 40 countries around the world.

Henry Lim Bon Liong (SL Agritech Corp.)

Henry Lim Bon Liong, CEO of SL Agritech Corporation, believes that hybrid rice is the answer to rice farmers whose problem is low yield. Henry knows everything and anything about rice, especially the hybrid rice variety that his group, through SL Agritech Corp., seeks to encourage more Filipino farmers to plant to increase yield and income. For his efforts in promoting hybrid rice and helping ensure food security in Asia in 2001, Henry was honored with a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service. SL Agritech is also helping other countries like Nigeria, Indonesia, and Bangladesh develop hybrid rice. Patience and long-term vision are Henry’s secrets to achieving success in agribusiness.

Danilo Fausto (DVF Farms)

Danilo Fausto, owner and president of DVF Dairy Farm Inc., what started as a hobby turned into a much bigger advocacy and business. His line of products, known as “Gatas ng Kalabaw,” has been producing good quality milk, cheese, and pastillas candy. In 1988, he bought 10 buffalos for milking and sold the excess milk. In the 1990s he put together a makeshift processing and distribution plant, encouraging neighboring farmers to form a cooperative with a plan to increase their numbers and the number of families they could help. Danilo is optimistic that the market for dairy and dairy products will continue growing, fueled by rising consumption and an expanding middle class.

Jun Castillo (Coconut House)

The Coconut House of Jun Castillo is not just a restaurant but also an advocacy that has been helping many farmers generate sustainable income. Jun believes that there is no reason why the close to four million coconut farmers all over the country should be among the poorest in the Philippines for they have the tree of life as their source of income. Jun’s vision is to use all the elements that can be taken from the coconut, educating farmers on the various ways to maximize coconuts, not only for food and consumption but for industrial purposes as well. He’s put many of the products under one roof at Coconut House, which features cuisines that use coconut and all-organic produce.

Pacita Juan (ECHOStore)

Adopting a sustainable lifestyle is what the CEO of ECHOStore, Pacita “Chit” Juan, is advocating. ECHO is an acronym for Environment, Community, Hope, and Organization. It is about conscious and caring consumerism that chooses fair trade and green products to help drive livelihood to the marginalized while helping our planet; and eating and drinking healthy, supporting locavorism, or buying food grown locally. It is a social enterprise that gives the market access to the products of small or marginalized groups.

Arestina Papillon (Pamora Farm)

Arestina Papillon, co-owner of Pamora farm, had a lucky streak when her husband sent her to attend a seminar on raising Sasso free-range chickens. Doubtful at first, the husband and wife considered raising free-range chickens as an alternative source of income. They tried to sell their chickens in the market but were unsuccessful, then hit upon a better way to market their chicken when they sponsored a lunch for the French Chamber of Commerce, where her husband is a member. The chicken was an instant hit. In 2002, they started to deliver chickens to gourmet stores and since then the business has continued growing. Thanks to her passion for her free-range chicken venture, Tina, who never thought she would become a farmer, was recognized for promoting French agriculture in the country and she is the very first Filipino to be conferred an order of Merit for Agriculture, Grade of Knight by the French embassy.

Salvacion Leuenberger (Sul Orchids)

Lucky are those whose job is their hobby and their hobby their job, because then they are not working at all. That is the outlook of Salvacion “Sally” Leuenberger, owner of Sul Orchids. In 1988, Sally quit both her accounting practice and her teaching job in Ateneo de Davao University to devote all her time to orchids. She did not notice that her hobby of collecting orchids had become a growing business. Over the years, what started as a 600-square-meter orchid farm in 1993 has now grown to 12 hectares filled with over 320,000 orchids. Today, Sul Orchids boasts the largest Vanda collection in the country, offering a variety of sought-after orchids.

Rob Crisostomo & Bea Misa (Islands Cacao)

Rob Crisostomo and Bea Misa saw the need to create a social enterprise from their love of hot chocolate made from local cacao, which gave rise to a company that increased local production of cacao and made more people appreciate the goodness of local cacao products. Both Rob and Bea have engaged with various farming communities through the Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly, a non-government organization that seeks to get more youth involved in agriculture. Initially the business was challenging but with help from an investor, they began making infrastructure investments in their processing company in Davao City, the heart of cacao production in the Philippines. Islands Cacao believes in uncompromised quality, environmental sustainability, and income sustainability for their farmers.

Tony & Beth De Castro (Earthworm Sanctuary)

Tony and Beth De Castro’s advocacy is promoting earthworms as angels of the earth. In 2002, Tony De Castro started to research about earthworms and found out that they eat biodegradable waste and that their manure, or vermicast, produces vermicompost, an excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner. Beth, on the other hand, worked as a trauma psychologist for the United Nations and when she came back to the Philippines, got mentally exhausted from all the sad stories she heard from the victims. Her husband recommended she take up gardening as hobby, and she found joy in it. After three years, they felt ready to sell the earthworms and organic fertilizers. They sold a starter kit to friends and neighbors that cost P3,500 each. Just like angels, the earthworms helped Tony and Beth turn their backyard experiment into a profitable business that also helps others and gives back to the earth.

Kalasag Farmers Producers Cooperative

Through the help of the local government of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, and NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services, the National Livelihood Development Council and Jollibee Foundation, in 2008, an initial group of 30 farmers from the villages of Kaliwanangan and San Agustin responded to the challenge of supplying Jollibee’s order of 60 tons of peeled onions from a production area of 1,000 square meters per cooperative member. They are the members of the Kalasag Farmers Producers Cooperative. The first group of farmers was provided with needed support such as training on effective onion-farming technologies, financial management, marketing, and agro-entrepreneurship. The farmers have become entrepreneurs and that transformation has earned for San Jose City the prestigious Galing Pook award that recognizes the best examples of good governance at work.

Dr. Justino Arboleda (Cocotech & Juboken Enterprises)

Dr. Justin Arboleda has proven that there is treasure in the husks that the coconut industry casually throws away. Dr. Arboleda was studying bioengineering in Tokyo University when he realized the urgent need to find lasting solutions to environmental degradation, particularly erosion. He saw that processing the husk into coconut coir fiber twine, then weaving them into high-strength mats for sale to companies here and abroad, would go a long way towards helping many poor coconut farmers in Bicol increase their income. In 1996, he went to Germany, where he made the first sale of his patented coco coir products. Since then, Juboken Enterprises has become known worldwide as a leading source of coco coir products. Arboleda is going full speed ahead with his venture as it is fulfilling his mission to contribute to environmental protection and give coconut farmers more income.

Mylene Matti (Green Earth Heritage Foundation)

The Green Earth Heritage Foundation is helping prove the wisdom of the saying “Healthy soil leads to healthy people and a healthy planet” through its organic farm in San Miguel, Bulacan. Mylene Matti founded GreenEarth in 2009 after she got a donation of over 100 hectares of land in Bulacan, giving her the opportunity to make more people realize the merits of consuming organic food and bring back to life the land damaged by decades of illegal logging. They wanted to showcase ecological restoration, biodiversity, and social and spiritual transformation that could bring equitable opportunities that contributed to national development and security. GreenEarth’s biggest accomplishment so far is the “new order” of living that they’ve been able to establish and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Philippine Biochar Association

Formed in 2011, the Philippine Biochar Association (PBIA) promotes the production and use of biochar in the Philippines. Biochar is produced by slow-burning agricultural waste such as rice hulls, rice straw, corncobs, wood chips and leaves to produce a soil enhancer. It is incorporated with the soil to increase the nutrient content of the land for better produce. Biochar production also allows farmers to get rid of solid waste without burning it to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. This industry helps farmers generate income, enrich farmlands, and minimize the risks of climate change. Its vision is to develop and strengthen local biochar networks in the country. Through proper government funding and support, biochar can indeed help save our planet and improve our food supply.