Farmers need not be poor

Farming can be profitable. Our farmers need not be poor. Given today’s technology, a young generation of farmers will be able to prove that producing the nation’s food is a profitable endeavor.

John Harold Zapata, a young management student in San Fernando, Pampanga is determined to make a career out of profitable farming. The video team of philstar.com produced a feature on him that should inspire more of his generation to follow his example.

The 21-year-old used all of P1,000 in capital to start a hydroponics venture growing lettuce. He told philstar.com he now earns P30,000 a month from the business he started in April last year while attending online college classes.

He built his greenhouse out of scrap materials and used most of his P1000 seed money to buy lettuce seeds. He built his 50 square meter greenhouse in the backyard of their house.

He sold his first harvest of lettuce heads in the parking lot of his mother’s office and quickly sold out. He is now expanding his greenhouse and growing more lettuce that he sells to groceries and supermarkets in Pampanga.

He is looking forward to an entrepreneurial career growing produce and being the poster boy for today’s new generation of farmer-entrepreneurs. He said he is not afraid to try anything new because even failures can teach him something worthwhile.

New technology, hydroponics, and digitalization is the key to a more productive agricultural sector. Former Agriculture secretary William Dar was quoted by the late Roberto Romulo explaining the problem of modernizing our agriculture sector.

“The farming sector is still stuck in the first industrial revolution, with millions of smallholder farmers still relying on human and animal power, and simple farm implements… Level of farm mechanization is very low…  Smallholder farmers will remain trapped in poverty unless they become part of Industry 4.0.”

Romulo then described what digitalization of agriculture can mean to our farmers.

“Digital agriculture refers to the use of digital technology to integrate agricultural production from the field to the table through the application of tools and information to make more informed decisions and improve productivity. These tools include the internet, Big Data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, drones and sensors…

“By collecting real-time data on crop development, soil, weather, and air quality, farmers are able to make intelligent decisions with regards to planting, fertilizing, and harvesting crops… farmers can effectively use information to achieve greater yields and greater profits. Digital technology also enables farmers to access markets – to gather information and to sell their products.

“Digital agriculture is a critical enabler for attracting and retaining local populations as well as start-ups… Younger generations are keen to work with technology and so they would be enthused to live and work in rural communities.”

Serendipitously, I received this email from a new agritech start-up that wants to revolutionize the way farmers are able to earn a decent income through its marketplace platform.

MooMart is a Manila-based start-up, led by co – founders Eva and Eric Choe, set to launch this November. They aim to connect farmers with buyers.

They are now developing partnerships with equally new ventures growing out of the pandemic like Beyond Fresh by Don Avelino, Heart of Harvest Hydroponics Farm, NXTLVL Farms, Metro Farms, Los Pepe’s Farm and Kaja Berde.

Eric explained that the farm-to-fork market is riddled with middlemen who take advantage of thousands of farmers across the Philippines. The current system of traders who get farmers to sell their produce to them at ridiculously low prices has been the bane of Filipino farmers for the longest time.

Because farmers do not have the means to bring their produce to market or to properly store their harvests to await better prices, they are left with no choice but to cut their potential losses. Some even just dump excess harvests by the roadside.

Going digital has always offered farmers a better way of going about their business. They can get the latest market prices and they can connect with potential buyers so they are not at the mercy of the usual traders.

But our farmers are old and not tech savvy, and where they live are not reached by the internet. These have been the challenges for NGOs trying to bring farmers to the digital age.

Eric explained that his start-up is an online farmer’s marketplace. Eric believes MooMart will help farmers earn a decent living.

“It’s a digital platform that allows farmers and buyers to directly transact without the need of middlemen and grocery stores. MooMart solves a crucial problem pertaining to the farm-to-fork value chain…

“Our goal is to not only help our farmers, but to also pass along extreme savings to buyers who are looking for high quality produce,” said Eric.

MooMart will ensure farmers a fully developed platform that allows for features like setting order schedules based on harvest date, subscription options for buyers, and secure online payments. MooMart has over six major partnerships and registered 100 farms pre-launch, and is looking to serve the entire Metro Manila area.

Sure hope that works. But challenging the traders and commodities cartels in our agricultural sector is a tall order. Technology should help, but these folks who have made even the government look helpless are not about to go down without a fight for a business they have dominated for generations.

But every little thing helps. When Air21 was still owned by Bert Lina, they had this informal way of helping farmers by using the backhaul of their refrigerated trucks to bring farmers’ produce to Manila.

From what I recall, they drop the produce at Quinta Market where the executive chefs of major hotels and restaurants source their supplies of vegetables, among others.

Now that the Ayalas control Air21, they have this opportunity to positively impact the lives of farmers by helping them bring their produce to markets.

It is encouraging that our young people are stepping up to the challenge of modernizing our agriculture and believing that farmers need not be poor. They should be helped with logistics and technology. After all, the folks who produce our food should make money on the fruits of their labor.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco