Entrepreneur finds business opportunities

in idle agriculture land amidst crisis

 

Instead of laying off workers in the midst of the pandemic that has prompted several businesses to either close up shop or extensively downsize, one businessman based in Southern Leyte has been creating jobs, hiring more than 24 employees to operate his growing number of food kiosks.

 

Entrepreneur Rey Calooy said this is a result of his decision to “pivot” or shift to another business model or other products and services in the time of the pandemic when there is serious lack of operational cash flow, low customer demand, and reduced opportunities to meet new clients.

 

In the first quarter this year, he opened My Farm, a dine-in pizza restaurant. When the government started initiating quarantine procedures as a measure to prevent a severe outbreak of COVID-19 cases, Calooy was forced to temporarily close My Farm and strategize.

 

In the absence of delivery apps in the provinces of Northern and Southern Leyte, he decided to bring My Farm to the public, targeting consumers working in the government, teachers, overseas Filipino workers, and millennials who associate pizza with city life.

 

He launched his first My Farm kiosk in July. Since then, he has been operating 12 curbside grab-and-go pizza kiosks across town. He is planning to operate a total of 18 kiosks by the end of the year.

 

Each kiosk is manned by “crewpreneurs” who Calooy considers as My Farm’s business partners. Through a profit-sharing scheme, they earn at least P500 a day in Southern Leyte while being coached to become entrepreneurs themselves.

 

Agriculture for business

 

Most of My Farm’s ingredients are supplied by Calooy’s own farm and other farmer associations. In 1997, during the Asian financial crisis, he has been slowly cultivating half a hectare of land strategically located along Maharlika Highway that is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway, the country’s longest system of roads and bridges that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao.

 

His integrated farm features drought-resistant rice, eggplant, okra, lettuce, atsal, bell pepper, tomato, bottle gourd, and spring onion, among others. They are harvested for his family’s meals and as ingredients for his food business. Some of his crops are also displayed and sold at My Farm kiosks.

 

At the same time, he buys raw materials from legitimate organizations with integrated farms that can augment the supply of ingredients My Farm branches need.

 

“This goes to show that we can make idle land productive, income-generating, and sustainable,” Calooy said. He has further developed his farm during the global financial crisis in 2007-2008.

 

He said that the current pandemic has disrupted the norm and severely affected tourism-dependent industries. Many city dwellers he knows have returned to their hometowns not only to work from home but also to grow their own food. Others living in the urban areas, he observed, are using available spaces to plant food crops amid the high cost of vegetables and fruits in the markets.

 

“I urge the government to encourage the public to engage in diversified and integrated farming not only to cope with the economic effects of the pandemic but also to ensure long-term supply of fresh food on the table,” he said.

 

He explained that by growing premium and quick cash crops and integrating them with livestock or aquaculture, small farm owners, whether they are amateur or experienced, are guaranteed self-sufficiency and optimum production and harvest.

 

Opportunities abound

 

Just like how he sees agriculture as a business opportunity, he said that entrepreneurs must never stop aspiring and must be brave enough to push through with creative initiatives even when market conditions are difficult.

 

“During critical times like these, the right mindset is important. Instead of looking at problems, entrepreneurs must strive to be positive and look at opportunities or other models they can make out of their current businesses,” Calooy said.

 

Calooy is no stranger to hardships. His first business was manufacturing of floor wax. When prices of raw materials went up to the point when making competitively priced floor wax was no longer feasible, he ventured into the distribution business. He absorbed many employees from the previous enterprise and used all his savings and expertise gained from working as an employee in the distribution department of a pharmaceutical company.

 

The stiff competition in the distribution industry prompted him to try his hand at making his own products to distribute. Through a series of technical-related difficulties, he plodded for weeks and successfully manufactured various vegetable-based noodle products. He has been distributing them through his company, RNC Marketing Philippines.

 

His noodle-making factory is also located along Maharlika Highway. The same factory buys crops, such as squash, from families across town to help complete the ingredients needed to make raw noodles. It also now makes the dough for the pizza products of My Farm.

 

He said this is another clear case of “pivoting” or shifting to another business model or other products and services in the time of the pandemic. This was a necessary move since some tourism-dependent products that RNC Marketing Philippines distributes are also affected by the pandemic.

 

The discovery of business opportunities in agriculture runs in Calooy’s family. His brother, Tito Calooy Jr., built Balsa Kafe in his farm to complement its agricultural business of rice farming, to add value to the land, and to provide the next generation with a venue to fall in love with farming.

 

The name Balsa Kafe is a reference to when the Calooy siblings would ride the balsahan or sled attached to their father’s carabao going to the family farm to harvest. Balsa Kafe is now considered among the top farm tourism destinations in Southern Leyte, according to the provincial office of the Department of Tourism.

 

Calooy is the president of the Filipino-Cebuano Business Club. He is a former vice mayor of Libagon, Southern Leyte, a Go Negosyo Awardee for Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year, and a pioneer member of the ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network.

 

For more information about My Farm, visit its Facebook page: www.fb.com/myfarmcafe. #