Chili Billionaire

First of all i would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of MH17 crew and passengers :-( May all their souls rest in peace, and that all the family members stay strong and be brave through this difficult time, This critical moment is also a test for all Malaysian, and we must stand together with the families of friends of the victim, as we can only imagine the sense of grief faced by the families affected by this sad tragedy, meanwhile for those who spreading unverified information regarding the crash of MH17 " DON'T RUB SALT INTO THEIR WOUNDS" please respect the victims and their families!

After all, life is unpredictable, where does life start? where and when it ends?
is this the right path? is this the right journey?
Is unknown to anyone! RIP #MH17


Well then, whatever said and done we have to move on,,,,and sometime it is boring just to talk every other day about today’s political scene or current issues. … So, I thought that today’s topic should be an enterprising one …

As Malaysians, chili seems to be added in most of our daily meals, so what better way to share a story of a “Chili Billionaire”. Can you believe Chili Billionaire? Do you believe that agriculture can make a person successful and become a Billionaire?   

Recently I had come across a blog, about an Entrepreneur a ‘Chili Billionaire'  in Sijangkang , Banting , Selangor . Mohamed Firdaus and his wife Dewi Marina both aged 28 years ,Lovers since high school and today, blessed with 3 children.They were interested in planting chilies through the fertigation cultivation methods  (planting trees in poly bags) and enrolled in fertigation course at MARDI, 5years ago.  

After obtaining knowledge about cayenne through fertigation methods, that was 4 years ago, Firdaus and Marina agreed to do agriculture as a full time career to earn their livelihood. They started planting 1,000 chili plants in the early stage, using varieties of cayenne seeds such  as Kulai 469,151 and 568, all the finest chili seeds from Taiwan with the cost of RM3.50 per tree (Seed, fertilizer, irrigation and treatment of diseases).

 

Through fertigation , it is learnt that , The plants begin to produce chili as early as 70 days and it continues to produce until the expiration period of the plant’s life for 6 months.

Once harvest, a tree can produce more than 2kg chili. 1 kg of red chilies price is around RM6 -RM7 (minimum) If  1,000 trees x 2kg (min) x RM6 (min price) = RM12, 000 just like that… Then subtract the basis cost of RM3.50 (RM12, 000 - RM3, 500 = RM8, 500 Nett) )…wow, isn't that profitable?

 That’s for  1,000 trees,  Imagine Firdaus and his wife now, they have over 60,000 chili plants which plant progressively , for instance, one  stage of seedlings, one stage of growing trees and another stage of chilies awaiting to be produced. Every 2 days, they collect chilies with the help of more than 100 employees.

Four years ago, their annual income was about RM half a million per year, so today you can imagine what their total income is! Workers on the farm consist of foreign workers which are paid a minimum wage of
RM 1, 400 per month!  While for the supervision on the farm they picked amongst their relatives.  Now it is not only were they selling fresh chilies in contract farmers (that too were not enough to meet the demand, according to them), they also started up a store at the wet market, Daily Fresh Botanical Gardens, Klang.
Daily Fresh selling crops which was planted by them like cayenne, ginger, hydroponic vegetables such as kale, mint etc.etc.., they also sell chili sauce, chili minced of homemade.

So, in conclusion, the demands for all types of chili never recede. The food sector is one area we have a demand that exceeds the supply because most of the food supply either protein such as meat, crops, nor needs such as rice is still imported.

As for chili plant requires diligence and careful observation over time as caring for a baby that needs to be cuddled constantly. So, For those who are interested in doing this project, today in accordance with the new initiative action oriented programmes through NAAM (New affirmative action movement) by Datuk Saravanan Deputy Minister in Youth and Sports Ministry, considering the youth are our Nations future and NAAM is a hands on interactive movement towards developing and empowering them and to encourage Indian youths to venture more into the field of Agriculture. NAAM’S primary aim is to assist the youths through entrepreneurship, business financing and human capital development. NAAM’S focus will be on agriculture for the starting where land will be provided for those without their own land together with training by experts from agriculture ministry. In short everything is provided from the land, the seeds, fertilizer and training to even buying back the produce from you.


All you have to do is to make sure you have a passion and are willing to work hard to ensure well - manicured plants. :-)