Manuel of Isabela: Agripost Turned Backyard Farmer

 

For Manuel, his agribusiness started when Arnel – Territory Business Manager – introduced him to Pilmico feeds. At that time, he wasn’t very knowledgeable about swine farming so it took a while to get his feeds business up and running. Little did he know that this simple introduction would lead to another profitable business venture in the near future.

Manuel shared: “Nagumpisa ako magbenta ng Pilmico feeds worth Php 30,000. Pero sa tulong ng Animal Product Specialist, ginalugad namin yung area namin dito at ipina- kilala namin ang Pilmico at yung kagandahan sa paggamit ng produktong ito. Mula sa Php 30,000 worth of feeds noon, from 2010-2015, 1600 – 1700 bags per month na kami,”

Being a dedicated businessman, Manuel wanted to educate himself on the various Pilmico products he carries in his store; so he decided to go into swine farming. What started as an experimental project has now turned into a supplementary business for Manuel.

“Gusto kong mapatunayan sa sarili ko kung gaano kaganda talaga itong produktong ito at kung papaano ko maipapakita sa kapwa ko magba-baboy. Nag- umpisa akong 23 heads para mapatunayan na itong line of feeds na pinapakain ko ay talagang maganda. Hindi naman ako nabigo kasi nakita ko yung paglaki ng baboy ay mabilis. Dahil sinubukan ko ang Pilmico feeds, confident na akong sabihin sa mga tao na ang ibinebenta kong feeds ay maganda ang resulta. Pinagpatuloy ko yung pagba-baboy at sa ngayon, mayron na akong 13 inahin. Sa katunayan, kapag nanganganak ang mga alaga ko, marami na ang nagpapa-reserve kasi alam nila na kaledad ang baboy dahil sa genetics at sa feeds na pinapakain ko. May kita na sa feeds, may kita pa sa nai-bentang biik.”

There’s been a lot of feed companies who’ve approached Manuel and convinced him to carry their products over the years. But, he remains a loyal Pilmico user.