KAJANG: WHEN he was invited by a friend to visit a chili farm in Kedah in 2007, Marzuki Safiee, who had just resigned as a group Information Technology manager of a listed company, laughed off the idea and politely turned down the invitation.
“Growing up in Kelantan, I remember seeing a group of farmers working under the hot sun along Sungai Kelantan.
“I thought the hard work involved in farming was ‘lekeh’ (tedious).”
His view towards the agriculture industry, however, changed after the same friend, showed him pictures of the chili farm in Sungai Petani, which adopted modern farming techniques.
Marzuki spent almost four months conducting research and identifying land for his agricultural project before venturing into chili farming with a start-up capital of RM30,000 the same year.
Twelve years later, the 59-year-old is an agropreneur and founder of Taman Agro-Fertigasi (TAF), which sits on a 1.4ha plot in Sungai Ramal Dalam, Kajang.
TAF, which is among the earliest agricultural park to adopt a fully automated fertigation system, focuses on fig farming apart from other high-value crops such as rock melons.
The park also produces cash crops, including chili, kailan and chives.
His ability to build his agriculture business without depending on monetary assistance from government agencies and financial institutions garnered interest from leaders, including Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Moha-mad and Council of Eminent Persons chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin, who visited TAF early this year.
Recalling his start, Marzuki, who is an alumni in Science (Physics) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said it was not an easy feat in the initial stages.
“Financial resource was scarce since I did not apply for any loan when I began this project.
“Even eating at the warung was too costly for me.
“It was harder since I had no background in agriculture, but the discipline required when studying physics and my experience working in the corporate sector helped me pass hurdles in the agriculture sector,” the father of five said in an interview with the New Straits Times.
With evolving business module and precision farming management in place, Marzuki continued to expand his agriculture project by going into fig farming when demand for the plant as a collectable item began booming in 2014.
By this time, he had mastered the nature of business in the agriculture sector and developed a contingency plan in the event the price of the fig plant began to drop.
“The nature of business in the agriculture sector is different from other industries.
“You have to sell the yield from your crop regardless whether the price is high or low to avoid it from becoming spoiled.”
TAF, he said, did not feel the pinch from the reduction in fig prices as collectable items since the park focused on producing fruits from the plant.
“I believe that there is a huge potential in commercialising figs in Malaysia.
“We have the perfect weather for the plant to bear fruits all-year long compared with other countries, which have several seasons.
“To expand fig farming, we need to better understand and explore the market for the plant.
“The same applies for rock melons.
“Unlike other countries, Malaysia has the right weather to grow the fruit but many did not use this advantage to venture into this market.”
Speaking from his experience, Marzuki said agropreneurs must establish short- and long-term goals apart from having knowledge of the business to sustain themselves in the sector.
“Efficient cash flow management is equally important, similar to managing time and workforce.
“Income generated from your agricultural project should also be invested to help you generate more income, such as in research and development.”
He added that income generated from his agriculture business enabled him to build seven greenhouses at TAF over the years.
Apart from growing asparagus, he said he was in the early
stages of growing grapes at TAF, as he wanted to branch out into agro-education and agro-tourism.