“‘Yung grandfather ko po is a traditional farmer siya. Pero ni minsan hindi siya nangarap na may maging farmer sa kamag-anak niya.”
This was the statement of a 21-year-old man from Pampanga who started hydroponics business with P1,000 capital in 2021. Now, he earns P30,000- P40,000 per month!
John Harold Zapata Harold built a small greenhouse in front of his home in San Fernando, Pampanga and planted 72 lettuce seedlings last year.
At that time, with limited cash on hand, he became industrious and resourceful to start up his business.
“Hiningi namin ‘yung ibang materyales, mga scrap ‘yon. Minaximize lang namin ‘yung resources namin. Bale ang binili nalang namin is ‘yung seedlings,” he said.
In the middle of the pandemic, Harold grabbed the opportunity of online classes to turn his dream business into reality.
“Eh wala tayong baon no’n eh so talagang naghahanap ako ano ‘yung pwedeng maging source of income ko. Siguro kung hindi nag pandemic, nagb-business ako pero hindi ho ganito,” he said.
“Itong mga lupain talaga dito, lolo ko ang nagsasaka. So habang lumalaki, nagkaka ideas tayo about sa farming. Pero dahil modern ang generation natin, hindi naman talaga ako nagkaro’n ng interest sa farming talaga. Gusto ko lang mag business kaya lang no’ng one time bandang April, nakita ng father ko ‘tong hydroponics farming. Pina panood niya sa’kin ‘to,” he recalled.
Harold harvested 50 pieces of lettuce heads on his first try. He then sold his produce at P25 per cup at the parking lot of his mom’s office.
“Tapos do’n ko na realize na ‘pag more on farming ang bini-business mo, napakababa ng capital niya. Tapos ang ganda ng balik niya tsaka ‘yung investment niya, tsaka sa health maganda rin,” he said.
Harold joined the Kadiwa rolling stores of the Department of Agriculture and his business became known to other entrepreneurs. After seeing a stable income in hydroponics farming, he was able to expand his greenhouse farm from 50 to 150-square meters. Per batch, Harold can now harvest 2,000 lettuce heads.
Currently, Harold is a fourth-year marketing management student at the University of the Assumption.
With the success of his business, Harold will likely pursue a career in farming despite negative feedbacks from other people.
“‘Yung grandfather ko po is a traditional farmer siya. Pero ni minsan hindi siya nangarap na may maging farmer sa kamag-anak niya. Dahil po ang lolo ko, hindi naman sila ay into social media, so alam po natin ngayon ginagawan na ng creative way. Tapos pumapatok. Sabi ko siguro ‘pag nagawa nang tama, baka maiba ‘yung sistema,” he shared.
As a Gen Z entrepreneur, he also wanted to encourage the youth to try hydroponics farming.
“Isa din sa vision ko ‘yung ano talagang nakisali ako sa industriya ng farming dahil alam ‘yung issue na gano’n talaga na may discrimination sa farmer. ‘Pag farmer, farmer lang. Kung walang farmer, mamamatay lahat ng tao dito. ‘Yun ang hindi ko maintindihan. Bakit sila ang minamaliit? Samantalang sila ang pinaka nagbibigay ng serbisyo sa lahat ng tao,” Harold stressed.
“Sa mga kagaya ko na kabataan diyan, tumatanda ang mga farmer. So sino ang magtutuloy, ‘diba? ‘Wag ho silang matakot na mag try dahil unlimited naman ang trial eh. May lesson naman tayong natututunan diyan kung hindi mag succeed ‘yan,” he said hoping that young individuals would try hyrdoponics.
