Banking pin money in a farm

One hundred career women have pooled their individual P5,000 contributions to invest in a cash crop venture.

"We were looking for a project we could invest in," said Nelia Gonzalez, a member of the Philippine Federation of Business and Professional Women and a former Agriculture Assistant Secretary in charge of cooperatives. "Nona Ricafort, our president, liked the idea of investing in agriculture. This way, we help improve the farmers’ ability to provide food for our tables. We also augment their income and the economy."

The project, which will be launched this month in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, is a three-way joint venture project with the Small Farmers Development Center and Harbest Agribusiness Corp.

PFBPW member-investors will provide the money. The investment cost includes material inputs like seeds and fertilizers as well as crop insurance premium.

SFDC-accredited farmers will provide the land and the labor. Only farms with irrigation, well-drained and not flood-proned, will be involved in the project. For its part, SFDC will supervise and monitor the project operations.

Harbest will provide the technicians, including Taiwanese agricultural experts from Know-You-Seeds Co., as well as market the produce.

Under the scheme, the PFBPW member-investor can choose the project site and the crops to be planted in the site. Like any business, she is encouraged to make on-site visits to see how her investment is doing.

Investment return

Eleven high value crops identified by a SFDC feasibility study will be planted in the joint venture farms. Based on a cost and return (C&R) analysis, return on investment for a 1,000 square meter farm ranges from 108% for eggplant to 404% for sweet pepper and 502% for tomato for every crop cycle of between four and five months.

To ensure a higher rate of success, what will be planted in each project site and when to harvest will be synchronized with market demand. The production plan will incorporate staggered planting as a strategy.

SFDC will prepare a profit and loss statement for each project site, a copy of which will be given to both the PFBPW member- investor and her farmer-partner.

After deducting production cost, the net income will be divided equally between investor and farmer. The profit will be released at the end of the cropping cycle.

PFBPW intends to replicate this project in 100,000 hectares all over the country. "If more members will sink what they would otherwise spend for a day of pampering in the beauty salon into farming, we will be able to expand by next year," Gonzalez said. "If others see just how fast their money could earn in a productive venture, they will soon sign up."