Encouraging Filipino millennials to engage in agribusiness enterprise, the Department of Agriculture through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council launched the Kapital Access for Young Agri-preneurs (KAYA) Program on July 6, 2020.
A project which provides financial assistance to young Filipinos who shall venture in agri-fishery business, it opens bigger opportunities for young millennials to invest, grow and diversify while at the same time help the country address the major concern on ageing farmers.
Finding this good opportunity as an instrument to succeed in his chosen venture is Mr. Enrico Theodore Ramos of Alcala, Pangasinan, the owner and manager of a poultry farm which he was able to establish through credit assistance from the DA’s KAYA loan program.
One among the six KAYA recipients in Ilocos Region, Enrico is determined to take full advantage of this opportunity to succeed at 26.
When he first learned about the KAYA program, he immediately sought the assistance of the Municipal Agriculturist in his town and was then directly linked with the ACPC representative in the region who provided him the necessary guidance he needed in availing the project.
Aggressive and committed, he prepared all the documents required to avail of the said program.
As a graduate of Business Management at the Dela Salle University, it was an easy task for him to prepare the feasibility studies, projected financial statements, journal entries, and other documents that satisfied the requirements of the ACPC.
After only a few months of waiting, young Enrico’s proposal on ready to lay and ready to grow free-range chicken breeding and production hub business was approved amounting to P500,000.00 on October, 2020.
Succeeding in his initial quest to produce the needed capital for his business venture, he faced yet another challenge having to decide what to prioritize in his business, whether to focus on breeding, ready to lay or ready to grow chicken. Risk taker as he is, he settled on the three options that form part of his proposal.
With his business foresight, he came to realize that raising the ready to grow chickens would give him easier returns while raising chickens for breeding and egg production would provide him better margins. Taking all these into consideration, he opted to have the three raising classifications as these have their own seasons.
Part of his marketing strategy, Enrico put up his own carinderia in the town proper of Alcala, Pangasinan offering various chicken menus. He is likewise currently working out for a possible market in the National Capital Region which is in need for a regular supply of 40 heads dressed chicken alongside with the local demand in Alcala.
CZ dominant chicken were among the breeds that he raised which have leaner meat and lesser fat as compared to the ordinary native chicken.
To cut on his production cost, Enrico uses locally-raised feeds such as azolla, banana and trichanthera leaves, as well as local medicinal plants such as oregano and lemon grass which he learned from webinars he attended sponsored by both private and public sectors.
Taking advices from friends who have been in the trade for a long time like Mr. Donald Uy who was very supportive of his chosen endeavor, Enrico also owes much gratitude to his family, his boss – Alcala Mayor Jojo Callejo, and to the DA-ACPC staff for being part of his journey to success.
Empowering more future farmers like him to go into farming business, Enrico now advocates the KAYA-credit facilitation program to his fellow youth and some are now seeking assistance from the ACPC. This is his way of sharing his success.
