Mary Divine D.

Anhaw Grade 6 – Einstein

All Successful Filipino Entrepreneurs in the Animal and Fish

Raising Industry

1. Joel Magsaysay (Ilog ni Maria)

- Joel Magsaysay retreated from his top position in a food-chain
company, left the corporate world and pursued his mission as a
nature lover. He traded in his prestigious life to live on his own
little farm. Turning his bee farm into a business was not the first
plan. He and his family first started incorporating bee products
into household items such as soaps and toothpaste. At first, they
were just giving them as gifts to friends and family, but through
word of mouth, news about their products eventually spread.
Learning only through books, Joel and family are the proud
owners of the Ilog ni Maria Honeybee farm, housing 800 colonies
of bees.
2. Edith Dacuycuy (Refmad Farms)
- Edith Dacuycuy of Refmad Farms owns the largest dragon fruit
farm in the country in Ilocos Norte. Her farm was a result of her
search for a cure for her daughter’s illness. The Dragon Lady, as
she is called, was able to grow her business through process
innovation and research, and her farm is very notable for its
zero-waste farming practices. With the expansion of her
business, Edith realized the need to register her agribusiness and
encourage other local farmers to engage in dragon fruit
production. Her dragon fruit is distributed here in the country
and abroad. Her vision is to make the Philippines a very big
producer of dragon fruit.
3. Senen Bacani (La Fuerta, Inc.)
- The former Department of Agriculture head during the
presidency of Corazon Aquino and former country manager for
Dole Philippines and Costa Rica, Senen Bacani knows a lot about
agriculture. He is now the CEO of one of the largest exporters of
bananas in the country, La Fuerta Inc. Determined to help his
community in Mindanao, he converted vast lands into a plantation
that now produces five to six million boxes of Cavendish bananas
and exports them to the Middle East and countries in Asia. They
use their tagline as an inspiration: excel because we care. True
enough, it is not only their world-class products that made them
big, but also their efforts to care and value their hardworking
farmers.
4. Arsenio Barcelona (Harbest Agribusiness Corp.)
- From his travels to Taiwan, Arsenio Barcelona was inspired by the
technology and techniques used in their farming. He then brought
this information back to Manila. In 1997, Known-You Seeds Co.
Ltd., the largest and most prestigious seed breeder, producer and
distributor in Taiwan, got them to be the exclusive importer and
distributor of their products, which then led to the Harbest
Agribusiness Corporation. After their success, they now offer
monthly training to encourage and inspire Filipinos to try
backyard farming.
5. Jose Mercado (Merlo Agricultural Corporation)
- Jose Mercado, chairman of Merlo Agricultural Corp., grew up on a
coffee farm in Lipa, Batangas, owned by his father, and spent his
childhood years helping him run the farm. He was inspired to
continue, for this was something he knew by heart, so he put up
his own coffee business and realized his dream to have a better
life. Jose did not go to college but took courses in accounting and
 taxation for he knew by then what he wanted to do. Merlo is a
combination of his and his wife’s last name: Mercado and Lopez.
He is proud to say that his family is one of the pioneers in the
Batangas coffee industry. They bank on the quality of their
coffee beans and roasting technique. In 1990, Jose developed his
own blend, which became a hit because of its flavor, and called it
Cafe de Lipa” named after his hometown. He sells three brands of
coffee: Batangas Brew, Cafe de Lipa, and Kapeng Barako, which
have all proven popular in the market until today.
6. Joseph Calata ( Calata Corpoiration)
- The youngest business tycoon in the country started by studying
the family business, and through his passion to develop their
business, Calata Corporation is now the country’s largest
distributor of agrochemicals, feeds, fertilizers and seeds. Joseph
believes that the agricultural sector should be empowered for it
will bear great products. He also treats the farmers as their best
asset for they would not be the biggest agricultural conglomerate
without them. Having helped introduce agriculture-related
technology, now Calata Corporation is signing deals with different
foreign firms.
7. Jeffrey Lim (JSJ Goat Farms)
- Jeffrey Lim was involved in business at an early age since his
family ran a noodle factory. A request from a friend to have a
goat as a gift for his birthday inspired his business. He thought
that, since many farmers raise goats, he could easily source them.
He also realized that there was more he could do in the goat
business, which was breeding. He and his wife started raising six
goats in 2001; in 2004, he decided to convert his goat-breeding
hobby into a full-blown business. His venture began to soar and, in
2009, he was able to sell more than 400 goat breeders. JSJ is
 also expanding into related businesses like goat milk production
and feta cheese. Today, his business continues to profit and goat
raising has been his goldmine since he started.
8. Charita Puentespina (Puentespina Orchids and Tropical
Plants Inc.)
- Credited with saving the waling-waling in the Philippines from
extinction, Charita Puentespina’s passion for growing orchids and
love of plants led her to establish her own business. She grew up
loving plants because her family was into agriculture and their
backyard was full of plants and vegetables. Charita was enticed to
grow orchids by her friends, who had beautiful orchids in their
homes. She knew that she could grow them herself, and started
importing orchids from Bangkok and Hawaii. She researched
orchid breeding and propagation and invested in it. By the 1980s
she was able to successfully propagate waling-waling in her
laboratory. It attracted demand locally and abroad, so she
expanded her farm, which is now known as Malagos Garden
Resort. In 2008, she bought land adjacent to her farm and named
it Golden Sunset, where cacaos are grown and manufactured as
chocolates.
9. Desiree Duran (Duran Farm and Agribusiness Center)
- With only limited knowledge of farming, Desiree Duran was
challenged to start her agri-business after attending a seminar.
She turned one hectare of land into a plantation of tomatoes that
piqued the interest of her own community, which became involved
in the production. Duran Farm and Agribusiness Center now trains
farmers and teaches them about modern technology in farming.
Through these efforts, they have produced high-quality fruits
and vegetables and also developed seeds that are now available on
the market.
10. Paris Uy (Live Green International, Inc.)
- Paris Uy’s advocacy for organic products has been well-received in
the country. He is into producing organic vegetables, which today
are very much in demand. Live Green International Inc. now
distributes fresh produce and organic products to 19 outlets in
the country, including well-known malls and establishments. They
also opened the first whole-foods store in the country named
Organiko. Live Green also gives training programs to farmers and
has now produced a total of 160 graduates as of May 2014, 88 of
whom are now certified and official organic contract growers.
11. Ferdinand Marañon (Sagrex)
- Ferdinand Marañon started his career in sales and marketing.
After 14 years in that field, he ventured into agriculture, where
he found his niche and success. In 1980, he put up the Sagrex
Group of Companies. For over 30 years, Sagrex has not stopped
opening new markets and dominating the competition in terms of
agricultural trading. It has grown to at least five different
companies engaged in the production and sale of different
products catering to the different needs of the market, from
fertilizer trading to packaging innovation. Hence, they set up the
first polyethylene foam plant in Davao in 1990. His venture
involving bananas is his most successful, expanding to Cavite and
catering to the Calabarzon area. Sagrex Foods Inc. has also
embarked on the commercial production of frozen microwaveable
bananas for export. Today, they are one of the largest exporters
of this product around the world.
12. Philip Cruz (Herbanext)
- Interest in science and his considerable scientific knowledge led
Philip Cruz to establish Herbanext Laboratories Inc., which has
grown to become one of the largest local sources of herbal
 extracts. Philip grew up having agriculture as part of his life since
he spent time on his father’s farm and fishpond in Negros
Occidental. He first set up an aquaculture venture and eventually
shifted to mushroom growing and processing. After mastering the
science and process of it, in 2002, Herbanext was born. Through
intensive research and innovation, he was able to manufacture and
export herbal extracts. Herbanext was very keen on entering the
export market for it would generate more jobs for farmers. Philip
believes that his determination to benchmark Herbanext against
the best in the field has born fruit as it has been able to
establish itself as the pioneer herbal extract manufacturer in
the Philippines.
13. Martin and Pilamar Ozaeta (Gemsun Marketing)
- Having been in the poultry business since 1994, Martin Ozaeta
and his wife Pilamar’s Gemsun Marketing produces close to
55,000 eggs daily. When they were starting, Martin did not have
a background in the poultry business but with the help of
Pilamar’s parents, who were into it, he learned the process slowly
but surely. Martin and Pilamar started with 3,000 chickens and
this has grown to over 60,000 today, despite many challenges and
setbacks through the years. Hard work, determination, and
fortitude are the two’s keys to success. Their determination to
succeed comes from the fact that there will always be a demand
for eggs in the market. Today, to generate stronger market
demand and trust, Martin and Pilamar continuously search for
ways to improve their production and produce quality.