Justina Nadiahan, 29, is a Communications graduate with an eye for business and a heart for agriculture.
Hailing from Banaue, Ifugao, Nadiahan isn’t a stranger to the province’s abundance of tomatoes. However, she could see that its abundance was growing to be a problem rather than a blessing. There was a clear oversupply of tomatoes and low demand for it.
“I thought, there is a problem for our farmers.“ Nadiahan said. “Farmers are not having enough market so they are left with no choice but to throw their goods.”
Nadiahan lamented over the mountain of wasted unbought tomatoes and looked for a way to address the problem. “I tried to look at some products that may not be much existing in the market, and I found the tomato spread,” said Nadiahan.
In their home kitchen, Nadiahan and her family experimented. She took to YouTube and studied how to make tomato spread. While learning, she made adjustments to create the taste that she wanted and could cater to the Filipino taste. And so, the Philippines’ very first commercial tomato spread was born.
In October 2022, Nadiahan established Country’Vest, the business that would sell the tomato spread and be a bridge between the market and Ifugao’s tomato farmers. Country’Vest translates into ‘the country’s harvest,’ as Nadiahan wanted to highlight that it is a product from the rural areas of the Philippines. The business describes itself as the farmer’s arm to create opportunities for them in their own industry.
“We create doors to the farmers, and open windows to their customers,” Nadiahan said.
Spreading out as a business
The tomato spread that Nadiahan developed is made from Avatar and Diamante tomatoes exclusively grown in Ifugao.
The whole business is operated by the Nadiahan family. Nadiahan’s father and mother are in charge of sourcing the tomatoes for processing, while she and her sisters are the ones who process the tomatoes into a spread.
“Actually we are still at R&D, especially we are still testing the shelf life of the ,” Nadiahan said.
However, there have already been purchases of the product. “We’ve already sold some tomato spread,” Nadiahan said. “That’s why I am very much positive there is a market.” In fact, Nadiahan said that people give positive feedback. “They said that you would not even know that this is made of tomatoes.”
Country’Vest’s tomato spread has two sizes. The 230ml is P229, while a smaller 150ml size is P139.
Nadiahan’s tomato spread has only been circulating the Ifugao market so far, however she wants to bring the product out of Ifugao, too. She also aims for the product to be marketed to tourists and to also be exported.
For now, Nadiahan visits LGUs and restaurants to market her product. She said there has been interest in the product from the restaurants she visited, however they need a bigger size before they could purchase it, which Nadiahan said she is working on developing.
Young Farmers Challenge finalist
Due to her unique idea and meaningful advocacy, Nadiahan successfully became a finalist of the Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) in the Cordillera region.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) established the Young Farmers Challenge as a competitive financial grant assistance program. It is intended for the youth who will engage in new agri-fishery enterprises and to encourage them to stay or return to agriculture.
“ was introduced to me when I visited the DA office in Baguio,” Nadiahan said. She was invited to join the challenge, and she agreed without a second thought. Months later, she emerged as a finalist in the prestigious challenge.
“It was exciting and challenging,” she said when asked about her YFC journey. “Because that’s where you see that there are a lot of like-minded people like you. There are people willing to help in solving the problem and there are other people you can learn from.”
The YFC opened opportunities for Nadiahan to introduce her tomato paste to a larger audience. She was able to pitch her product to several institutions and even exhibit it in Baguio City, where she was able to release sample products to different hotels and restaurants.
“From this competition and this product, I was able to get a lot of recognition and awards,” Nadiahan said. “It was very overwhelming at some point because you get to be invited, you get to receive awards.” She is happy that she was gaining recognition and that she was becoming part of the plans for the municipality.
Big tomato plans
Nadiahan said that research and development for the tomato spread continues. However, she has a lot of plans for Country’Vest.
There are plans to build a bigger processing area for the product, as well as research into natural preservatives so the tomato spread can be marketed to areas farther than Ifugao. She also wants to improve on the packaging and include nutritional facts for the product.
The YFC has also opened doors for her to meet big stakeholders that may help expand her business and advocacy. She said that although she is nervous facing them, she is very confident that there is a market for tomato spread.
After creating her tomato spread, Nadiahan aims to expand to tomato paste. She is also exploring processing other vegetables such as pickled beans.
The role of a non-farmer
Nadiahan is dedicated to opening opportunities for Ifugao farmers to pierce the market with unique products. Despite not being the farmer who grows crops herself, she is still passionate about enriching the lives of farmers and providing solutions to a problem.
“I am not a farmer,” Nadiahan said. “My role here is not to manage, but to show our farmers that there is a market for their brand.”
Nadiahan observed that farmers lack knowledge when it comes to the market. She believes that farmers should know that there is a bigger market out there and there are big opportunities.
For people with similar advocacies, Nadiahan offers this advice: “This adventure, it’s really difficult to succeed, but if you have the reason ‘why’ then start small and never give up,” she said. “Even how rocky road , if you have the tenacity to do something for yourself and for your community, then that keep you going.”
Photos courtesy of Justina Nadiahan