by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
THIS couple is a perfect example of cooperation between husband and wife engaged in business. Dom and Jennifer Carreon Subang, own Farmtech Agriland Corporation located on 2nd Opal Street, RGA Village, Obrero, Davao City. Their in-born entrepreneurial spirit and drive have helped them tremendously in making both ends meet.
For a while, they both worked as employees of different companies in Cebu City, content to live a simple in the urban setting of Cebu along with their two sons, Seth and A, nine and six years old. But, being the young dreamers they are, the couple continues to reach for the stars in their endless quest for life’s conveniences and pleasures. That requires vision, planning, hard work—a surefire formula for success more time than not.
In 2005, the couple, Dom, 30, an electrical engineer, and Jen, 33, a graduate of computer science, returned to their hometown, Davao City, where they have seen how their business developed steadily from retailing garments and kitchenware, to agricultural products.
“A business starts with an idea, dili gyud sa capital. If you have an idea, and you have the desire, the universe will work it out for you. It will happen to you,” Dom said.
Jen stepped into the realm of entrepreneurship when she left her job, and ventured into the buy-and-sell business while Dom was still an employee. It was when Dom quit his job that they began to see their business boom under their partnership.
In the beginning, they bought and sold just anything, personally delivering the items to remote areas. These included ready-to-wear garments, beauty products, duraboxes, and even kaldero (cooking pots).
A costly mistake they committed early on taught them a valuable lesson which would serve them in good stead, according to Dom. One of their contacts in a barrio failed to remit a substantial amount due to the couple. “Dapat before magmake og move, planuhon gyud ug maayo,” he said.
But, the setback, painful as it was, left them with no choice but to move on as it was not the time for regrets but to plod on given that both of them had left their jobs to be on their own.
Referring to an adage in a book he had read, Dom said, “When a person is already pushed against the wall, that’s when he strives. Kay kung naa pay work, naay fall back. Pero kung left with no choice, dapat mo-succeed gyud mi. Tutukan na gyud ang business.”
And so it came to pass that they started planning out more seriously. Dom decided that they would venture into agri-business considering that most of the companies in Mindanao are into agriculture. What they did first was take an inventory of people they met back when they were still employees.
“Siyempre sa agri-business, dagkog capital. And, how could we compete with big distributors? So, we tapped our friends,” Jen said.
They asked their persuaded their businessmen friends to allow the couple to market their agricultural products. “Nakita nila nga naa mi guts. At least, gipakita namo sa ila na sincere mi, confident pero dili hambugero,” Dom said, chuckling.
“Nisalig ra gyud sila sa amoa. They gave us credit without requiring documents for CI (credit investigation),” Jen said, explaining that those were big, successful businessmen who were from Davao City. That resulted in the couple distributing farm inputs, chemicals and fertilizers in Mindanao. When they saw the needs of exporters for packaging, they added among their services a one-stop-shop of packaging materials for banana exporters.
“We noticed that there were several banana exporters who were looking for a supplier who could provide and deliver to them all their other packaging needs, hence we came up with this one-stop-shop solution,” Jen said.
Officially establishing their company in October 2010, the couple said what makes them different from other agri-business is that they share technology with farmer clients, and which led them to named their company Farmtech. “We’re not only selling products, but solutions, as well,” Jen said.
Farmtech also offers crop health therapy products which, Jen said, are neither fertilizers nor pesticides, but like food supplements for the plants. Farmtech believes that a plant, like a human being when fully loaded with vitamins and minerals, will not fall ill and will achieve its full potential to grow and bear fruits.
Farmtech conducts free seminars for growers, plantations, and cooperatives, teaching farmers about crop health. “It is about understanding the language of the plant,” Jen said. “We encourage farmers to invite us if they are interested to know and learn more about the technology. If they had learned about it, they would have done it,” she added.
In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, and the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority, the couple has conducted seminars for farmers in Davao City, Mati, Sto. Tomas and Compostella Valley, on planting mango, vegetables and bananas. Seminars in Digos City, Tacurong and Agusan (Caraga region) are coming up. Those who wish to attend the seminars may call (082) 227-9757 or email farmtech@ymail.com.
Planning to put up their retail shop within the next three years, Dom says he wants “farmtech” to become a household name. He says planning is an effective measure towards success. “Put down into writing all your plans for the next year, for the next five years, and for ten years,” he said.
For her part, Jen, who used to be an employee, has realized that she is, indeed, a hard working employee. “Today, I’m a hardworking employee of our company. Bahalag unsa kahagu, ang akong pamilya man gihapon ang makabenefit,” she said.
Checking the background of the companies they have partnered with, the couple is confident about the quality of their products.
“The owner’s personality reflects the quality of his or her products, and the people who work for the company,” Dom said.
For them, repeat orders mean good feedbacks from clients. “We tell them to return the product if they have problems with it. So far, wala pay nagareklamo,” Jen said.
