Farming - anyone?

[Tea97]

Hello, just wanted to see if there are fellow GTalkers who have any experience in investing in farming, mapa-grains/rice, veggies, or fruits? My sister and I are interested in investing in one, and would like to get feedbacks on how to start, where, how much capital, what to watch out for, etc.

Thanks in advance!

[peenitokss]

my family owns a not so significant parcel of land in the province kaya may konti akong idea sa farming.

what do you plan ba sis? are you going to buy a land then papataniman mo? or parang ipi-finance mo lang yong pagtatanim nong landowner? pero either of the two, i suggest dapat trustworthy yong kukunin mong farmer. marami din kasi minsan madaya pag dating sa harvest.

[caterpillar-girl]

Hi sis, my family and I have a small farm too. I think you have to scout for an area first. Ours is just a 4-hectare farm but others have profited much from a much less smaller one, like a 2-hectare farm. We plant mostly fruits and veggies. Hindi pa sya serious business though, we sell here and there, sa mga markets, minsan sa mga kapitbahay lang namin here in the city. Most of the time we just give away our produce to friends and family hehe. I'd like to make it into a serious business someday. Pero I want to concentrate on processed stuff, like processed fruits. Hindi ko pa talaga sure paano pero yun talaga plan namin in the future.

Super ok ang agri business sis, but kelangan talaga tutukan. Kung ako sayo, attend a seminar sa Harbest. They have people there who can help you.

[pinklilac]

hi sis..kung ipapahawak nyo sa iba ang alam ko hati kayo sa profit...

[Tea97]

Thanks both, isip ko mag lease ng lupa tapos patamnan ng palay. Uncle naman namin ang magbabantay, pero kukuha ng mga local farmers. Kung maka 2 good harvest a year lang, i think that's a decent enough goal. Sort of testing the waters na rin, kung maayos naman kausap mga tao dun, e di puwede na kami bumili ng lupa. Financier lang labas namin, kasi di kami farmer-facing, yun uncle namin ang gagawa nun, tapos may sweldo and bonus na lang siya sa harvest.

May ideas kayo how much ang farm inputs? I guess yun sa pre-harvest: seedling, fertilizer, pesticide and farm hand;  tapos post harvest, milling?

Salamat uli.

[Piaps]

Hi Tea97, 

Maybe you can also look into organic farming, less land area requirement (1000sqm) and less manpower din.  if you're in metro manila may mga advocates ng organic farming dito sa may Quezon City, naka-attend na dati sister ko sa isa sa mga orientation nila and hopefully we can start with our mini-organic farm early next year sa aming small land in Bulacan.

Yung last seminar nila is about mushroom production.  I don't know when is the next seminar for Organic Farming in general.  You can email them here >> spreadorganicagriculture@yahoo.com in case you're interested.

Maganda market ngayon for organic produce kasi marami ng health conscious ngayon.

[e.viv]

I want to put up my own farm someday din.

Sis Tea97, my lola does what you're exactly planning to do... It's vegetables for her though...

Like any business do not be too trusting, before bringing out any amount of money, be knowledgeable of how much seedlings, fertilizers, etc... is actually needed for the land to be plowed. Also post harvest, be sure to be there to look after the actual amount of produce...

[aquacharly]

^ very good advice.

 Personally, I do not start a business that I will not closely/hands-on manage myself at the start.  I believe that is the only way to safeguard my  investment, and maximize profits, and learn more about the winning line for that type of business.  para later, it is easy to have somebody manage for me -- alam ko na critical  variables & how to efficiently monitor. 

Importante, andun ka sa bayaran ng produce & as much as possible --  you get the buyer yourself, puede kasi madaya ka sa kickback. 

I do not like agri/farming.  The weather, the people - hirap manage mga yan.  Nakawan ka, etc etc - hard to pin down. May tax sa govt, sa DAR, sa NPA,  sa pulls, etc.  Nakawan ka ng ----  or happy birthday! Penge  oink oink. Susko.
Pag ok harvest mo -- kowz! Lahat ng  competition ok din -- bagsak  prices. 

Kumita, nalugi na din,  kami ni hubby sa peanut farming, mangoes, prawn farming, bangus sa  Laguna Lake, piggery, bakahan , goat farming. -- overall kumita -- but for me, it isn't commensurate to the troubles.    Easier to import and wholesale rice.  Matutulog na lang ako & stock trade.   Talaga pala mahirap maging haciendera, which I am not -- hahaha. 

I now go "kasama" --  I get a share of the harvest, they provide labor & all inputs.  So wala  ko lugi, only unrealised earnings.   I get the buyer (unless yung price ng buyer na gets ng"kasama"  is higher) & keep   tight watch of produce.  Sa timbangan with buyer -- I send my matalas, trusted accounting team. 

Atchaka, well -- you gotta stay where your farm is.  To make it big.  Eh, basta  lumampas ako ng Bulacan or Los Banos  -- Hindi na ko maka breathe easy.  I count the hours.

[kiz_me1109]

My family is into farming. I was born and raised in Iloilo. Yung hubby ko is from Manila but he is very interested in Farming. He's staring to study Vermiculture kasi gusto niya i apply sa business namin. We both work pero nag i invest din kami sa farming. Since malayo kami sa Iloilo, what we do is kumukuha kami ng mga sanlang lupa na pwede taniman ng palay. For 2 years yun. Then, for 2 years, we can do whatever we want with the lot. Tinataniman namin ng Palay. Then, after 2 years kapag naibalik na sa amin yung pera e babalik din namain yung lupa nila kapag naani na yung last crop. =)

[kolinetongue]

magandang agri-business ngayon dragon fruit

[caterpillar-girl]

^^We're into vermiculture too. Vermicomposting. We really like that our farm is really organic. Next step is to have it certified. I think there's a huge demand for vermicompost, so even that we can sell to farmers.

To the TS, I think you should really try going to the seminars. Then you'll know how much input you need.  Tsaka they can tell you which farm inputs you need and which ones you don't need.

Farming is hard work, but it's also fun. Kami our farm is in Cavite, so we can go back to Manila easily.  I love we eat our own produce. Magtanim talaga ay di biro, but I think there will always be a market for produce, and even organic produce. You can even process your own produce. Plan nga namin mag export ng mga dried fruits or processed fruits. Also, instead of looking for suppliers, ikaw na mismo mag susupply ng raw materials for your processed products that you can sell.

[Tea97]

Thanks for all the tips/posts. Balak namin gawin yun model na sinabi ni sis kiz_me1109, parang pilot project na rin tapos ala pa kaming malaking cash outlay.

Ideally we want to be close to the business, pero pareho kaming nasa overseas ng sister ko. This is why we're trying to set up different income streams, para when we feel like it's time to spend time sa Pinas, we still have some income to count on. We wanted to do paupahan, pero ang mahal ng mga townhomes sa Manila and we can't even be sure about renters being good payers. My parents have experienced lousy renters who even turned the tables against them.

We're planning to lease land further north of Manila, so talagang ang market namin is in the northern region. Tignan muna namin if maayos ang set up, and if it proves to be sakit ng ulo, we can easily pull out. I really want this to work though, kasi nga it would not only provide income to us, but also to contract farmers who don't have any regular income. Gusto rin namin tumulong sa mga kababayan, and at the same time produce quality food for customers, lalo na nga't people now realise we need to take care of our health better.

[ysa.belle]

@aquacharly,

would you buy a lot outside manila? for investment purposes?

[kiz_me1109]

caterpillar-girl

Were also from Cavite pero wala naman kaming Lot na pwede gawing farm e. =( Buti pa kayo meron. Saan kayo sa Cavite sis? Nagbebenta ba kayo ng worms?

[aquacharly]

@aquacharly,

would you buy a lot outside manila? for investment purposes?

Where?  How big?
I don't believe in idle lands,
.
Can I use it  as a depot in the meantime?  minimum 1 ha., preferably. 

Ayoko din yung pinaligiran ng squatters. . 

Thank you for asking. 

[mameejhy]

I do not like agri/farming.  The weather, the people - hirap manage mga yan.  Nakawan ka, etc etc - hard to pin down. May tax sa govt, sa DAR, sa NPA,  sa pulls, etc.  Nakawan ka ng ----  or happy birthday! Penge  oink oink. Susko.
Pag ok harvest mo -- kowz! Lahat ng  competition ok din -- bagsak  prices. 

You do not recommend farming as a business, sis?

[sleepless]

^ where you from sis?

[chiqmom]

may kita naman sa farming. ang consolation pa is, you get to consume your harvest so sure ka sa quality. yun nga lang kelangan tutok ka sa mga tao mo kasi uso ang nakawan. sa amin, hindi naman ganung kalaki ang kita since d naman namin naasikaso big time but we are able to get something, plus free na yung rice namin.

[nicola_juliano]

Mahitap kapag malayo lupa nyo, just like my bf na merong lupa sa Cagayan. Wala din mapagkakatiwalaan. So he decided to rent it out na lang. Sayang nga e...

[ellyza]

guys, may alam ba kayo na mushroom farming seminar? please let me know thanks i advance, god bless