AVANT GARDENER
Yvette Tan
I sat down with Arsenio “Toto” Barcelona, president of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month.
As anyone who’s met him knows, he’s fun to talk to and is a font of knowledge. He was also a good friend of former Manila Bulletin Agriculture section editor and the grandfather of agrijournalism Zac Sarian, who started Agriculture Magazine, which also celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
I asked Barcelona for his secrets to running a successful agribusiness. Here are his answers:
Offer quality products. Marketing may take a business far, but in the end, what will determine a loyal clientele is how satisfied they are with your products. “Another good aspect of it is we see farmers making money,” Barcelona said.
Open everyone to opportunity. When introducing a new product to the market, it’s sometimes a good idea to educate your potential customers on how it will make their lives easier. “One of the most important lessons we learned (is) that we have to make the farmers make money. So, we have to teach them. It takes time. We have to be very patient.”
Cultivate relationships. “One thing that we really emphasize is the spirit of service,” Barcelona said. This means their staff is always ready to answer questions from customers. This extends to Harbest’s relationship with its suppliers as well. “I emphasize friendship. In any business, that’s very important because friendship is founded on having a good relationship.”
Invest in your staff. “Almost all of (our field staff) are really mentors, but they had to undergo field training for three years, so they built up their confidence until they can handle training programs,” Barcelona said. Helping staff meet their true potential means cultivating employees who are invested in helping your business grow.
Stay updated. “Successful agribusiness always starts from science. Ten percent of your success is technology (and) science. Fifty percent is your strategy. Experience (and) how you apply it, that’s very important also. But without science, no matter the strategy, nothing will happen,” Barcelona said. “And then the last one, 40 percent is character. Because if you are lazy, or give up easily, you won’t be successful.”
Capture the market’s interest. Sales and marketing are important. In Harbest’s case, it starts with its name. “That’s why when people tell me Harbest is spelled wrong, I say no, it’s because we only carry the best,” Barcelona said. “Another thing I will tell them is if we had spelled it correctly, no one would be asking about it.”
We also discussed the future of Philippine agriculture. “I think Philippine agriculture will still be moved by the private sector. But the rule of the government is very important. I think the government should rationalize policies regarding irrigation, regarding the development of infrastructure, the road networks, even the simple thing of land distribution,” he said, adding, “I think agriculture will develop. It’s just that we have to help each other. First, the consumers should learn how to eat local…. but it’s also the responsibility of the farmers to produce quality.
“How do they produce quality? They have to put in an effort to learn. And it’s not only their responsibility. The schools should also be teaching the right technology to the students. That’s why, when I give talks to the university audience, I would always tell them, you know you have four years with these students, and that’s a great responsibility. If you have agriculture students and 80 percent of them do not end up as farmers or agribusiness, there’s something wrong with your program. So, you have to show them that there’s money in farming.”
He ended with, “And we have a market. 110 million. Imagine, everyone eating locally grown food.”
If the country can develop its agriculture industry to totally supply its own needs, that would already be a huge growth for local producers and a huge leap towards securing the Philippines’ food security.
Yvette Tan
I sat down with Arsenio “Toto” Barcelona, president of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this month.
As anyone who’s met him knows, he’s fun to talk to and is a font of knowledge. He was also a good friend of former Manila Bulletin Agriculture section editor and the grandfather of agrijournalism Zac Sarian, who started Agriculture Magazine, which also celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
I asked Barcelona for his secrets to running a successful agribusiness. Here are his answers:
Offer quality products. Marketing may take a business far, but in the end, what will determine a loyal clientele is how satisfied they are with your products. “Another good aspect of it is we see farmers making money,” Barcelona said.
Open everyone to opportunity. When introducing a new product to the market, it’s sometimes a good idea to educate your potential customers on how it will make their lives easier. “One of the most important lessons we learned (is) that we have to make the farmers make money. So, we have to teach them. It takes time. We have to be very patient.”
Cultivate relationships. “One thing that we really emphasize is the spirit of service,” Barcelona said. This means their staff is always ready to answer questions from customers. This extends to Harbest’s relationship with its suppliers as well. “I emphasize friendship. In any business, that’s very important because friendship is founded on having a good relationship.”
Invest in your staff. “Almost all of (our field staff) are really mentors, but they had to undergo field training for three years, so they built up their confidence until they can handle training programs,” Barcelona said. Helping staff meet their true potential means cultivating employees who are invested in helping your business grow.
Stay updated. “Successful agribusiness always starts from science. Ten percent of your success is technology (and) science. Fifty percent is your strategy. Experience (and) how you apply it, that’s very important also. But without science, no matter the strategy, nothing will happen,” Barcelona said. “And then the last one, 40 percent is character. Because if you are lazy, or give up easily, you won’t be successful.”
Capture the market’s interest. Sales and marketing are important. In Harbest’s case, it starts with its name. “That’s why when people tell me Harbest is spelled wrong, I say no, it’s because we only carry the best,” Barcelona said. “Another thing I will tell them is if we had spelled it correctly, no one would be asking about it.”
We also discussed the future of Philippine agriculture. “I think Philippine agriculture will still be moved by the private sector. But the rule of the government is very important. I think the government should rationalize policies regarding irrigation, regarding the development of infrastructure, the road networks, even the simple thing of land distribution,” he said, adding, “I think agriculture will develop. It’s just that we have to help each other. First, the consumers should learn how to eat local…. but it’s also the responsibility of the farmers to produce quality.
“How do they produce quality? They have to put in an effort to learn. And it’s not only their responsibility. The schools should also be teaching the right technology to the students. That’s why, when I give talks to the university audience, I would always tell them, you know you have four years with these students, and that’s a great responsibility. If you have agriculture students and 80 percent of them do not end up as farmers or agribusiness, there’s something wrong with your program. So, you have to show them that there’s money in farming.”
He ended with, “And we have a market. 110 million. Imagine, everyone eating locally grown food.”
If the country can develop its agriculture industry to totally supply its own needs, that would already be a huge growth for local producers and a huge leap towards securing the Philippines’ food security.