Innovative farmer lives out his childhood dream

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Few farmers would dream of making as much money as the president. But one young farmer not only dreamt it, he actually pursued it.

Two and half decades later that young West Javan farmer proudly boasts earnings that quadruple the president's.

The now not so young Bachrum Achmad Baaeshowi has proven that a simple farmer can succeed with little fanfare.

He is no Bill Gates, but the Cinagara native, whose business has expanded from farming to microchips, practices the same ethics that truly successful businessmen adhere to throughout the world: perseverance, creativity and plain hard work.

Another uncommon trait, which is not shared by many here, is that Bachrum does not blame the downturn in the economy for the ills that challenge his ventures.

"I thought hard day and night how to get the best from my fishponds with the limited funds and space," he said recounting his experience.

"I did not stand still and do nothing. I went to many experts, asking them how to breed fish," he recalled of his struggling fishery ponds that he started in 1977.

His passionate search paid off. Not only is he now reaping the financial rewards of his hard work, but praise and recognition have followed.

His fish farming business alone now yields Rp 300 million a month, and numerous awards have also been bestowed on him, including one from the Dutch fishery community.

Recently he found himself in the most unlikely of situations, relating his experience to the graduating class of Prasetya Mulya's management school's post graduate students.

His message to them was simple: innovation and a strong work ethic as the backbone of success.

"As a child I had a simple dream: to have a salary as large as a president's. Now I can earn four times as much," Bachrum boasted.

"I'm sorry I can't recall how many pieces of land I own and the turnover in my business because I cannot remember the number," the farmer remarked almost arrogantly.

Bachrum's tale is one of the few uncelebrated success stories to emerge from the agricultural sector.

But the value of his success should not be measured by the size of his bank account, but by the personal breakthrough he achieved, expanding from a single fishery pond to a diverse farm holding that includes hundreds of goats, cows, poultry and even vegetables.

Most recently he has built a partnership with Samsung to establish a small microchip factory employing 600 female workers near his village of Cinagara.

"I introduced traditional technology for making fermented cassava or tape to Korean farmers. In return I was trusted to run a microchips factory by Samsung," Bachrum proudly told the audience.

Apart from running his business, Bachrum, 44, now dedicates much of his time to championing the plight of farmers through the Karya Nyata Foundation, which is involved in training and helping farmers hone their entrepreneurial skills.

He claims the Foundation has trained around 40,000 people, including 500 from other, mostly developing, countries.

About 85 percent of the training is focused on practical knowledge with the rest devoted to theories on running an agricultural business.

Bachrum also recognized that farmers were often in a weak position with no negotiating power over market pressures.

Thus, apart from providing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to meet these challenges, using his experience he tries to play the role of interlocutor between farmers and the market.

"I position myself as a mediator between the farmers and the market, for the farmers' benefit," said Bachrum, who is also a member of the National Economic Recovery Committee.

Another important cause that Bachrum champions is the need for greater dissemination of scientific breakthroughs to the rural community, who are often neglected and left untouched.