FISHPONDS, TREE FARMS, PIGGERY/POULTRY/LIVESTOCK, ORCHARDS, AND OTHER RELATED AGRIBUS

[mariner]

In the far north:
- fishponds seeded with tilapia nilotica (we now distribute tilapia fingerlings)
- a parcel of land planted with about 3,000 coconut trees, now bearing nuts
- a tree farm planted with around 500 gmelina (yemane) trees, now about 4 years old
- ~ 60 heads of native chicken
- 1 pregnant sow
- 4 Bulgarian buffaloes (government dispersal program); 1 native buffalo (kalabaw)
- 2 does (goats), 1 kid – crossbreed of native and Anglo-Nubian
- a hundred grafted calamansi plants, most now fruit bearing
- … and more minor items
In Bulacan
- ~500 grafted mango trees, 5-year olds, now flowering
- 36 ducks
- 6 heads hogs (fatteners)
- various stands of premium hardwood species (the vanishing types, owing to illegal logging)
- various kinds of flowering plants
- … and more minor items

An engineer; last employed by an oil company; returned to basics; finds countryside life much more fulfilling; would like to discuss business opportunities in rural areas (or countryside livelihood options), including, but not limited to problems besetting a farmer…

[B@tibOt]

i ones post a thread for me to have some background or info on how to start a piggery, sadly i only got one reply. i also one of (i think) many that want to go to basic. hoping you can help me by giving me some lecture or info on how to start a piggery,( structures, capitals, profit, etc.) in short ho to start & how to run it. thank you

[mariner]

Questions:

Where do you intend to set up your project?
What is the lot area of the project site?
How much are you willing to shell out for this project?

More questions to follow before we can have a more serious discussion of the matter.

[B@tibOt]

Regarding where i'm planing to do the project, i plan two put it up in Bicol side, i have to set of land there 1st is 500 squre meter but meron nakatira sa mga near by area, pero some part of it is still a rice field, 2nd is 30,000 squre meter pero near the sea i think, (it will be a problem ba kung sakali).

about how much i 'm ready to spend on this project, well as of now i only have 100t, para sa lahat na yun (structures, pigs, feeds etc.) but thats for the starting, wala pang pondo i'm looking for some close friend to be my partner pa e.

[mariner]

Kung may nakatira sa malapit, mas malapit din sa sakit ang mga alaga mo. Malapit din sa nakaw. I would prefer the 3-ha lot.

My brother-in-law just recently sold his 3 ½-month 8 fatteners (pigs) for P 36,000. He spent a total of P 21,000. He acquired the piglets at P 1,200/head (P 9,600 for the 8) and the balance he spent on commercial feeds. He did not place a value on his labor, since according to him, he enjoyed rearing the pigs. In the early stages, he used Purina (I am not advertising) as, according to him per his experience this is the best brand he used so far, despite being more expensive than the other brands. In their last month, to reduce costs on feeds, he mixed the commercial feeds with boiled cassava and “sapal ng niyog” (ito ‘yung matitira na solid particles kung gagawa ka ng gata). Mga sarili niyang tanim ‘yung cassava at niyog – so libre – at hindi rin niya binigyan ito ng value.

Don’t go into partnership. Go on your own even if you have to start small, especially since you are just to enter the business. And never practice remote-control management. Do it hands on. You can do it.

I can only give you some tips. If you have a friend who finished veterinary medicine, he’s the one you should ask for the details.

[ck2001]

mariner,

I wonder how much would you be needing (discounting the cost of owning the land) to start an agricultural business -- let's say piggery, and then siguro mango, and other fruit crops. How the does the business go -- like where can I consign all the produce I will have and which govt/private agencies can we rely on in terms of financial funding, seed technology, irrigation/help, etc.? Frankly, I do not have much knowledge about the whole business, but I am quite interested on an agricultural venture.

By the way, what age would you recommend someone to get into this business? I'm quite like you -- working in urban communities whose income is really dependent on the industry found in the cities.

[B@tibOt]

mariner thank for the info & encouragement, by the way you have said that the cost of the 8 piglet is 9,600 & sold 36,000 after 3 1/2 months, so it means 11,400 for the cost of the feeds you spend for 3 months?. can i rely on agriculture business as a source of income, from your experience what can you say?.

[mariner]

Word of caution… I am not really an expert. I can only share with you my experiences when I went into this agribusiness thing. I’ve had my downs, my downs, and ups.

If you have land, make full use of the land. If you venture into piggery, maybe you could plant crops that could also supplement as feeds, e.g. cassava, camote, etc.. Then maybe you could also raise some chickens (native as they are more sturdy), ducks, a few goats, one or two heads of cattle. Bicol, I believe, is often visited by typhoons. Mango trees would not be appropriate. Look around the vicinity. What fruit trees abound and are productive in your area?

If you start small, I am very sure your community could absorb all of your products.

Funding: Your parents, brothers & sisters, if they believe in you. Local cooperatives and rural banks lend money at low interest rates.

Technology: There are supposed to be what they call the agricultural extension officers or workers of the Department of Agriculture and Food. You can learn some from them. There are also magazines, books and other publications you could find at bookstores and at the TLRC (Technology & Livelihood Research Center?) with office and library at Makati. As for your piggery project, you can best rely on the local technicians of feeds manufacturers (inquire from the feeds dealer).

What age? A lot of employees, like I was once before, dream of working on their land after their retirement. That would be too late. You may not even reach your retirement age if you work in the city considering the pressure of work, the pollution, the “nakakainis na trapik”, at iba pa. Nothing is too early. It may be somewhat late already if you are already married, have kids going to school in the city, and the sole breadwinner of the family. Nevertheless, nothing is too late, either.

As source of income: There are many prosperous farmers. I am not yet one of them, but I hope to be, soon.

I don't stay quite often in the city. I spend more time in the province. If you don't receive an early reply, don't worry, I will at some later time. Just post your thread.

[gumacanian]

At one point we had 120 pigs and were quite optimistic.
7 years down the line after being sick & tired of fluctuating feed prices and greedy meat market traders and worst....Foot & mouth desease,delivered by the vet..We called it a day...We lasted 7 years because we were determined to recoup the money that we put in....We failed,dismally.
We tried again with battery hens for 18 months and could only break even.
Fortunatley I have a reliable source of income,which was often diverted to the piggery (Good money turned bad).

Im sorry to give a negative outlook to your proposition but thats what happened to us!!

One of the most important things you will need is a good reliable water source(The whole year round}
We thought we had one until the well run dry but thats another story!!
A competetive feed supplier that will be sympathetic when pigs at a selling weight will not sell because of rumours that foot & mouth is spreading 60km away.In other words...A good line of credit!!
Pigs dont understand when you try to explain to them
that lunch will not be served until supper time,in fact they make frightening disagreeable noises...Ahh bless them

Look if you really are adamant that this is what you want to do then the only advice that I can give you is to start small and stay that way until you at least double your money. That way the business will finance any expansion plans and not your life savings.....Good luck..You`ll need it!

[ck2001]

gumacanian,

We'll take note of your cautionary advice. If you don't mind, I wonder at what age did you venture into agribussiness? And how much money did you raise for this project (during what year)? We want to get more input and perspective from people like you and mariner as much as we can.

What other problems do you think could possibly beset this kind of livelihood?

[gumacanian]

Im not prepared to tell you my age,except to say that im no spring chicken!!
Started approx 10 years ago.Capital...250.000
Yes there are more problems involved,Of course there are. But what business is without problems??
A piggery/poultry/agri buis. must be a labour of love
and money must take second priority.
You have to be there all the time as relying on others doesnt work and is a drain on profits that you will need in the months following.
Simple things like free feed delivery helps.
Watching what the vet does and learning from him/her so that in time you can carry out certain procedures yourself will be of benefit too.

Our mother,who has a sari sari store,always kept a couple of pigs out back and she always did well..Why? Because she also sold feed (retail) via the store. The profit from the feed that she sold went into the pigs stomach and in real terms cost her nothing! In a way ,her pigs were like her bank account(personal savings). So this may be well worth taking into account.
Producing your own feeds from raw product and selling (wholesale) working along side your piggery is probably the way to go,although obviously,will require a large amount of capital. Of course,In effect,this will be like running two different businesses that complement each other at the same time.
Invest your time in seminars and check out sucsessful operations that have tried and trusted methods.
Never take advice from just anybody!! When starting a project like this because the so called experts are everywhere...Even the local mechanic will tell you he once had pigs!!
Dont spend large amounts of capital on buildings..Keep it small and add on later.
I cant emphasise enough how important it is to have a quality water source...Do you?? How about drainage??
Can you rely on family when you cannot be there for a day or two?...
What building design do you have in mind??

[gumacanian]

B***P

[guapa]

we used to manage a 20,000 layer poultry farm. we produced our own feeds and life was easy until our farm was hit with a fowl disease which cost us about 200+ head plus a day. Fortunately, we were able to get that very expensive medicine and was able to control the disease. but i think we lost almost 2,000 heads and that was soooo bad. since then, my dad decided not to undergo that heart-breaking experience anymore and we finally decided to get away from that 22 year old business. we are still keeping the 'invisible ranch' where in we have hundreds of heads of cattle disperesed in different towns. at least, whereve we feel like having lechon baka, we can have it anytime at no cost.

[mariner]

Am back after the holy week…

In our locality, including the neighboring towns within a radius of about 60 kilometers, a lot of farmers are making their own fishponds, mostly backyard ones. By backyard I mean about 1000 sqm of pond. I find this particularly good for my own business because at this point in time I am their supplier of their tilapia fingerlings. In the last quarter, we have disposed at least a million fingerlings. Sooner or later they will also learn the tilapia hatchery business and there will be a more lively competition. Prices will go down, including those for adult tilapia. We still sell adult tilapia at P65/k wholesale. In Central Luzon, the cost of tilapia is P50-60/k retail.

Ang masaya nito, kahit paano ay nakauna ng kaunti.

My own observations and analysis why a lot of farmers in our locality are including tilapia fishponds in their ventures:

1. The Department of Agriculture (DA)and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)are aggressively introducing the idea to the farmers;
2. Some farmers who have tried tilapia fishponds find this venture more profitable than piggery;
3. With tilapia fishponds you can go intensive (high stocking density – intensive feeding with commercial feeds – 20 to 50 tilapias per sqm of surface area), semi-intensive (less frequent feeding with commercial feeds, darak and/or other substitutes used – 5 to 10 tilapias per sqm), or extensive (fish rely on fishpond algae – 2 to 5 per sqm).
4. Harvesting need not be one-time. Farmers can get their daily fish requirements from their on pond.

I myself would not venture into a large scale piggery project. It is highly capital intensive and I am not that liquid. Tama na ang may pang-lechon kung may mahalagang okasyon.

I would not also venture into a large scale poultry (45-day manok). Kaparehas din yan ng baboy. Sapat na ‘yong bibi at native na manok na pang-pinikpikan kung may inuman.

‘Yung mangga na tanim namin sa Bulacan – marami-rami ring pawis at hinagpis ang inabot namin dito. Initially, the area was not fenced. Natapos ang anihan, gumala ang mga baka, kinain iyong mga bagong tanim na mangga. Binakuran. Dumating ang El Nino, nasunog ang mga tuyong damo, tinamaan din ang lintik na mga mangga. Tanim pa rin! Kamakalawa, pagkagaling sa mas malayong probinsiya, dumaan sa Bulacan – nakapag-uwi ng humigit kumulang isang kaing na mangga. Mga unang bunga. Masaya!

Isang kaing na mangga – P 500.00. Isang punong mangga – isang kaing sa pangalawang taon na pamumunga. Limandaang mangga, 500 kaing, P250,000 sa pangalawang taon na pamumunga. Gulang ng mangga? 6 na taon.

[amgonzalez]

I've read all the posts made on this thread & am truly impressed with some of the contributions made.

I'm a believer that the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is by providing work to the idle. This includes the creation of work opportunities for the poor in the countryside. I am also a believer that we shouldn't expect politicians or government to contribute much and therefore, we should look only to ourselves to get started. I also believe that if we do this correctly, we will set an example for many others to follow.

Here's the challenge

Let's set up & run an organization devoted to do the following :

Raise the level of consciousness of all Filipinos in & out of the Philipines towards systematic & methodical inter related, job creation. This is our first goal.

We string together a series of work creating opportunities that are inter related to one another. Pretty much what MARINER describes in his first post.

All must be geared towards SYSTEMATIC & METHODICAL job creation. These activities must be chosen on the basis of

- high visibility ( because it will help sell the idea & more people will take an active role )
- providing sufficient food ( rice production, corn production, chicken raising, fish raising, etc )
- US $ the Phils. saves from non importation of whatever's produced
- making the idle do something constructive

Here's an example

If we pursue our first project for say, raising chickens. Say project cost is 2,280,000 pesos ( US $ 51,000 ) & we could allot these monies to say, 1,000 families in their barangays, we could be talking of producing 50 tons of chickens every 5 weeks !

This is pretty much what GUAPA says with her " invisible ranch "

The resulting chicken adobo is not only going to be enjoyed, it'll give us a lot of armament to sell our cause further ( i.e. less US $ out to buy US frozen chickens, more & hopefully, affordable chickens for everyone ). We may " open more eyes ", if, in addition, we include that X househoulds now have Y incomes when previously they had zero !

The idea is to tie this project up with other projects that are inter related for example,
corn raising
chicken feed production
tilapia feed production ( partly from chicken manure )
tilapia raising


HOW DO WE PROCEED ?

We could start small, like say on a pilot scale that can grow quickly if we get the right results. By starting small, I mean, let's start out as cells & multiply ( just like the human body ). These cells would actually work as teams. These are,

PLANNING TEAMS

We need to start with one planning team !

A planning team should consist of a few who can contribute " hands on" with experience & time.
MARINER are you interested ?

Each PLANNING TEAM will
A. Analyze different projects that may be worthwhile & be relatively easy to implement. Study socio-economic benefits of each & time required to see tangible results. Analyze each project according to visibility, i.e. which project do we think will get more funding support ?
B. Decide as a team which project to pursue & why it should be pursued.
C. Prepare the specific details of the project chosen ( targets, dates, mechanisms to set in place, monies required )
D. Prepare marketing/business plan for the project
E. Project start & Operation. Some planning team members will be required to effect the project & see it is run correctly


RECRUITMENT TEAM

With the first PLANNING TEAM formed, a RECRUITMENT TEAM is needed. Its goals are
- bring the job creation message everywhere !
- recruit members as active participants ( those who can contribute " hands on" with experience & time )
- recruit new planning teams
- recruit donors in conjunction with UPDATES TEAM


UPDATES TEAM

This team is responsible in keeping everyone abreast on developments. Its function is most important as its success will create the formation of new planning teams. Moreso, it will help the recruitment team bring in new members & very importantly new & fresh monies for new & different projects. Ideally, we are looking for people with experience in television, radio, newspapers, internet, etc.

Some Goals are
- spreading the job creation message by explaining each project's specific goals
- explaining the specific funding required per project
- updates on collection made vs. target
- tangible progress reports on each project
- up to date list of donors/dates/amounts
- explanation of what we're doing to collect funds to expand our base.
- updates on recruitment with volunteer lists
- forum for idea exchange towards more funding avenues and future project(s) preparation

With fresh progress updates, support & recruitment may be sustainable. Real people success stories is the way to go. Anything & everything we do should be directed to show this.


What say all of you ? How many of you would be interested to work on such a challenge ?

[mariner]

amgonzales TY for saying my topic is a “must read”…

nix (administrator) what do you mean by “these projects should not be started in isolation”?

Kuya Danny (Moderator), I disagree that “the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is by providing work to the idle”.

“Once there was a teener who believed that the poor were poor because they were exploited by the rich. The young boy joined mass organizations espousing revolution to dislodge the bourgeoisie (and the imperialists) from their pedestal.

I really can not say at what point in time the young man changed… to believe that the poor are poor because they are idle and that they are idle because they are.”

I believe that the only way for prosperity to start in the Philippines is to start on our own. From myself, to my wife, to my kids, to my relatives, to my townmates… but not discounting others as my PexMates because I learn a lot from you.

(My discourse does not end here…)

[amgonzalez]

Mariner

As a continuation of the challenge I posted earlier, let us blue sky a little bit.

Say, we've been able to collect 2,000,000 pesos and you have accepted the role of forming the PLANNING TEAM,

What would you do ?

Where would you invest these monies so as to create the largest number of jobs ?

[fossil7]

i myself have the same dream of indulging into agri business coz thats where my heart is. pero, not have enough money so work muna sa city. and im happy to find this thread with so much info that i can use if ever mag start din ako a few years from now.

so far, ang dami nyong niraise na mga points on which people, even small farmers, could adopt to improve their rural lives.

i hope amgonzalez's proposal would materialize and we pexer's could come up with a body that will make all this hopes possible. with the unselfish objective of these ideas, combine with energetic and experience players, any goal is possible.

by the way, aside from TLRC, you could also tap Gerry Geronimo of Ating Alamin for more resources.

[amgonzalez]

Fossil 7

" Sana ? "

" Sana " means hope but you use it to mean, " let the others do it "

Fossil 7, don't you realize that we are that hope ?

Don't you understand that unless we start others won't follow ?

Don't you understand why we need to do this & we need to do it now ( please read, " ITS NOT CHICKEN FEED " at Local & Foreign issues for some economic explanations )

Mariner ? Ano ba ? Game ?

[fossil7]

Originally posted by amgonzalez
Fossil 7

" Sana ? "

" Sana " means hope but you use it to mean, " let the others do it "

Fossil 7, don't you realize that we are that hope ?

Don't you understand that unless we start others won't follow ?

Don't you understand why we need to do this & we need to do it now ( please read, " ITS NOT CHICKEN FEED " at Local & Foreign issues for some economic explanations )

Mariner ? Ano ba ? Game ?

i know what u mean. and sa cause nyo, im willing to join. pero, tingnan mo, sa hamon mo, may nagreact na ba toward its possibilities? well, siguro, bc or wala pa silang masabi. sana nga ganon.

we did this kind of invitation na rin before, sa local and foreign thhread, its one pexer's challenge to make a positive change in our country. maraming may sinabi, konti lang kaming willing magwork. kaya wala rin kaming nasimulan. sayang. sana hindi ganon ito. goodluck though.