All my previous experiences have been useful in my current vocation. To debunk some myths, farming today is not for the faint-hearted, illiterate, no-other option person. It requires you to have lots of "professional" skills. Among them are planning, time management, project management, budgeting, accounting, communications, personnel management and marketing. Apart from that you need knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Botany, Mathematics - to name a few. so, if you think that anyone can do farming, think again. I have great respect for the successful farmers that I know - they have an abundance of knowledge in a wide-array of areas and not having an MBA does not detract them from success, though quite a few do have MBA. Surprised? Don't be, this is the new breed of farmers.
like "Bananas should be cheap, you just plant and wait for it to fruit. You do not have to do much.", they should try it. You need to maintain the plants, ensuring sufficient water and good quality soil with good nutrients. Periodic maintanance of the plant, removing old leaves and checking the health of the plant, is a must. You need to watch out for pests (human and animals) and also for sickness. All this requires knowledge, resources and management. A good yield per plant is around 15-20kg. SHL produces and direct sell its bananas to preserve revenue and reduce money-drain. What do I mean by money-drain - well if we sell to another party we get RM 1.00 per kg but if we sell direct, we get RM 3.00 per kg albeit there is the additional cost of sales. However, the net result is better revenue for the farm. By selling it ourselves, it also gives us the control over the quality of the produce - we practice JIT - just in time - so the bananas are harvested and sold at its prime.
need to get done at the farm against my priority. Having good staff is also important so that we can work as a team together, living a life and not living for work. With all the chores at the farm, I do not need to find a gym - I can get my cardio, weight and strength training as well overall workout at the farm without thinking of it as task I need to do but incorporated into my lifestyle. I also do not worry about retirement as it is my farm and I can continue to be active and have quality of life without having to think what I want to do after retirement if I was still in the corporate world. There is stress because of standards that I place on myself and due to unexpected issues arising but it can be managed.
So, the next time that you look down on a farmer, realize that this person has probably the equivalent or more skills that you as an engineer, doctor or any of the other "professionals". We, the farmers, who produce food for you should be treated with respect :)
I came across your blog by chance as I was looking for the topic on how to plant daun ulam-ulaman. Now after reading some of your stories, I must say that it takes a very special lady to do what you have done. Insyallah, I will pay a visit to you at the morning market to try your smoked keli and misai tea. Till then, I congratulate you on a blog so inspiring and wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your compliment. I have a passion for what Iam doing and I enjoy sharing what I have learnt with others in the hope that people will get new information and ideas on what can be done. Should you have any questions on planting your daun ulam-ulaman, please feel free to e-mail me at watighio@yahoo.com and insyAllah, I can contribute some ideas. Please identify yourself should you visit us at the SP Sunday morning market. I also have an FB page called Suria Helang Lui where I post updates on the farm.
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