Milking loads of success:
BOTTLED FRESH MILK PRODUCTION
Having milk in every home is the vision of Andre Paulo O. Paraguya, a 27-year-old agripreneur from Impasugong, Bukidnon.
Fondly called ‘Pagong’ in their locality, Paraguya graduated with an Information Technology degree in 2015; but. However, he decided to return to his hometown in order to help in their family farm.
Pursuing dairy farming
His passion for agriculture—of which he already grew up with—was reinforced when he decided to venture into dairy farming. Their farm is located at Purok 5, Poblacion, Impasugong, Bukidnon.
Reaping the fruits of his labor, Paraguya was able to buy a milking machine and other equipment required for milk production. His farm currently produces 18 bottled liters of chocolate-flavored and eight plain-flavored milk. He has also established a pop-up store near his house, where he displays fresh milk and other dairy products to strategically sell to potential patrons.
The vision of a young dairy farmer
Ten years from now, Paraguya wishes to see his business flourish with the addition of value-adding products and hired workers.
Earnings may be an obvious indicator for success in one’s enterprise; however, he deems it more fulfilling to create an impact to his direct community and to other peoples’ lives with his venture. While working on having one of the biggest dairy farms is a good goal, Paraguya said that he eyes putting more premium to the production of high-quality milk.
As to the packaging of his products, he prefers to use glass bottles instead of plastic, saying that it is more economical and environment-friendly as it can be reused.
For now, Paraguya delivers milk to his clients and then collects the empty bottles across the municipality.
With the continued loyalty of his customers, brought by the health benefits and perhaps the taste of his products, he is optimistic that his chosen enterprise has a potential to grow. Factoring in his entrepreneurial spirit and his drive to be an agent of change, Paraguya stood as one of the Northern Mindanao Region’s representatives to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Young Farmers Challenge Fund (YFCF) Program – National Level Competition. ###
