P50T business capital enough to expand a livestock business

Fifty-thousand pesos may be small for some to expand a livestock business, but Ed Paul Abil, 27 years old, resident of Sibulan, Negros Oriental, and a manufacturing graduate of Mapua University in Intramuros, Manila, managed to expand his business with the amount. He learned from the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 7 page that the Young Farmer Challenge (YFC) competition is open to all youths who are interested to engage in agri-fishery enterprises and that the grant will serve as start-up capital.

For him, starting his business in January 2021 was an edge over those who are still searching for an enterprise to engage in. Ed’s agribusiness venture started with seven heads of cattle and 20 heads of goats. When Ed won the provincial level YFC competition in 2021, it allowed him to capitalize on the expansion of his livestock production. For Ed, grabbing the opportunity to join the YFC was a game-changer as his prize of P50T was wisely spent to expand his business. This is a small amount to some, but to Ed, it helped him a lot.

Knowing that feeds and forage eat up a big chunk of his budget to sustain his animals, he used ingenuity and developed his 1.2 hectares as a foraging area to source feeds for his livestock.

Surprisingly, in a year, Ed grew his livestock population from seven to 15 heads of cattle. Ed is grateful that six of the cattle are currently pregnant which for him replaced the five that were sold. In four months, he was delighted to earn P295T from his cattle and P50T from the sales of his goats.

For Ed to start livestock production now, is not just contributing to the stability of the meat supply in the province, but is likewise motivating the young generation to venture into farming—a fading and yet significant profession.

He believes that a dearth of farmers in a province also means a dearth of food, and this could be dangerous to the country’s food security plan.

For him, business management is a model for beginners as it proves that it is not the huge capital that makes one successful but the wise management of finances and resources with the help of the Almighty God that makes one prosper.