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Entrepreneur finds business opportunities
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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. # |
