After commenting on Facebook on a comment about a nation’s ability to produce enough food for its people, I realized how dear at heart this topic is to me. A few years ago, I made the commitment to develop a farm. I faced many challenges – among them, battling people’s perception of my abilities and commitment as well as some viewing that my venturing into farming is a waste of my skills. Since I was small, I have always had a dream of one day owning my own farm – producing great quality food produce. Albeit, growing up, farming was considered something that was done by people who do not have the ability or opportunity to further their education hence the perception that farmers are low-educated people, I still nurtured the dream of one day having my farm and being hands-on – not a “gentleman farmer”.
I have learnt many lessons and gained an immense amount of knowledge and experience in developing my farm. To the faint-hearted, this adventure is not for you. It tests your patience, your endurance and your faith. I approach the development as I would with any project – using project management techniques including having a project plan with resources and deliverables defined.
To start with, finding the right piece of land is key. Many were surprised at the piece of land that I chose and considered that I paid too much for it but in the end, people began to understand. I chose a land that was the last remaining jungle around other “kebun”. This land has a land grant dating to 1908 but in the last over 40 years, had not been worked. It was last a paddy field but all traces of this was gone when I got it. Tarzan would have a wonderful time on the land :). Key things that I looked at which in the end made the land cheaper overall was the fact that it already had a tarred road access, electricity and ability to obtain clean, fresh water. Sometimes when people buy a piece of land because it is cheap, they forget these 3 items. The cost of having a road access to your land can run in the hundreds of thousands of ringgit, and sometime, it is just to have it built with gravel stones – no tar. Hence a land bought at RM 40K per acre can in a blink of an eye become RM 140K per acre and you still do not have the electricity and water! When some people realized this, they began to see that I am not stupid for paying more than RM 40K per acre for land that was a jungle because at the end of the day, it not only costs less but also speeded up the time of development.
What does someone from IT and Telco background know about farming? Very little but that did not stop me. Life is a continuous learning exercise so I started to learn. I didn’t go to a university or take any formal training. What I did was to visit and learn from practitioners from all over the country. There is a lot of knowledge that is not in books – they are a good reference but in reality, there are so many factors that can impact that is learnt through experience and not found in books. I have to admit that I do have a collection of books covering a wide range of related topics. They are mainly localized since after all, I am living in Malaysia and not England or U.S.A. or Australia.
Nothing beats taking the theory and knowledge and putting it into practice. It is a never-ending discovery process. What may work on another farm may not work on mine due to various reasons. It is a continuous refinement process – making adjustments as I go along. When things do not go as I expect, when my patience is tried, I take a deep breathe and refocus and deal with the challenge. I do not view it as a failure but as an opportunity to learn and improve. Farming is for the positive-minded, open to challenge people.
Being a Muslim, farming is also an opportunity to be a better Muslim. Everyday I am amazed by Allah s.w.t. creations and power. It makes me feel blessed that Allah s.w.t has given me this opportunity. I am given the opportunity to produce affordable quality, pesticide-free, halal food, for myself, family, friends and customers. It makes me appreciate life more and gives me an opportunity to serve my fellow Muslims. Although I am not there yet, insyAllah, it will provide me with good income as well as activity as I grow older till the day that I die.
Farming requires passion. You have to love farming as it has its ups and downs. Farming requires commitment. You have to be committed as it is not an 8-hour in-out job. Farming requires faith. You have to have faith as there will always be challenges. Farming requires principles. You have to have principles or you will not be able to do it right. Farming requires brains. You must use your brains to plan, address issues, learn and a whole other multitude of activities. Thus, never under-estimate the farmer.
I studied the layout of the land, trying to preserve its good quality top soil, any plants or trees that are beneficial to humans and utilizing the natural stream-bed contour to create a fish pond.
My target for the farm was to be able to produce a complete meal with the exception of condiments such as salt and sugar. In a way, should there ever be a need, the farm will be able to feed its people from what is produced. No rice is planted so in dire circumstances, this will have to be replaced with cassava or tapioca (ubi kayu), just like during the Japanese Occupation. Other than that, cooking oil can be produced from coconuts. All the other elements are available – fish, vegetables and fruits. As my approach is to go as natural as possible, should organic fertilizer not be available, I have my compost. I practice crop rotation so as to to “kill” the soil. The plants drink the rain water and when necessary fresh, clean, natural water.