Poultry business gets nice and crispy

By Israr Ardiansyah

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Chicken breeders in Yogyakarta have been hit badly by the economic crisis, with only a few of them able to survive the bad times.

Tujo Hadisuparno, a resident of Sidokarto village in Godean district, Sleman, some 15 km west of Yogyakarta, is one of the survivors.

Witnessing other chicken breeders, who are also his neighbors, going bankrupt one after the other was not easy for Tujo. Most of them could no longer afford to feed their chickens.

"Feed for chickens, which was only sold at between Rp 40,000 and Rp 50,000 per 50 kg sack, increased to Rp 160,000 per sack. Most of us could not afford it," Tujo said.

Previously, he said, there were more than 400 chicken breeders in Godean. "Now they are history," Tujo said.

The crisis also affected Tujo's business but after his friend advised that only the fittest breeder would survive, he decided to sell one of his trucks to raise cash to maintain his breeding farm.

"I had to survive and deep in my heart I believed that some day I would be able to buy another truck," he said.

Now, he is thankful for his decision and lays claim to being the main provider of broiler chickens in Yogyakarta.

"I have sold more than 9,000 chickens a day ever since, and the number increases to 15,000 chickens a day during the Islamic Ramadhan fasting month," Tujo said.

The 46-year-old father of four started his business in 1969 by selling local chickens, locally known as ayam kampung, to some markets in Yogyakarta.

Every day, he traveled dozens of kilometers by bicycle all the way to the market to sell his chickens.

In the sixth year of his business, he finally bought his first mini truck.

"When the broiler chicken business boomed in the 1980s, I jumped onto the bandwagon and sold 500 chickens every day," Tujo said.

His business grew faster after opening a shop selling chicken feed in 1992. His eldest son Purwanto, 28, joined the business in 1994 to help him expand the family business and its market. Jakarta was one of its first market expansions.

"High demand for chickens in the Jakarta market made me believe that the agribusiness, especially chicken breeding, would always be a prospective business. Chickens have become a necessity for everyone, just like rice," Tujo said.

According to Purwanto, more than 50 tons of chickens are currently being traded in Pulogadung market, East Jakarta, every day. Tujo and his son supply some four to five tons on a daily basis. "I believe the business brings us fortune," he said.

Tasting success

Now, Tujo or his son no longer need to sell chickens on his old bicycle.

"We have trucks and smaller pick-up vehicles to deliver the chickens," Purwanto said.

With the breeding farm and the shop owned by the family, Tujo and his family earn a gross income of some Rp 150 million to Rp 200 million daily.

"With only 15 workers, including myself, I try to be as efficient as possible," Tujo said.

Farhan Abdi, the director of Yogyakarta's PT Sarana Yogya Ventura (PT SYV) from which Tujo has been receiving venture capital since December last year, said that Tujo's secure business model was responsible for his successful business.

"He may have been traumatized seeing his friends' businesses hit by the crisis in 1997. That could be the reason why he only borrowed a very small amount of money compared to what he could get from our company," Farhan said.

According to the company's venture capital officer, Yulizar, Tujo only asked for Rp 200 million of venture capital from PT SYV to finance his business.

"Actually, he could get up to ten times that amount, but it seems like he has played safe for his business. He asked for only the same amount he gets from his gross daily income," he said.

Tujo admitted that he preferred a conservative approach in running his business.

"Actually, I tried to finance my business with my own money and assets, but realized that I also have to expand my business. That's why I joined the venture capital program," said Tujo, who claimed that he had no idea of the exact value of his present business assets.

"All I know is that, whereas my family and I used to eat rice with tempeh in the past, now we eat rice with eggs. Where we used to distribute the chickens by bicycle, we now have cars," Tujo said.

One thing is for sure, the family now owns a 4,000-square- meter farm with some 40,000 chickens, 10 trucks and 10 other smaller pick-up trucks. An E-300 Tiger Baby Benz is also parked in Tujo's garage.

"I bought it in 1998 but I rarely drive it. For me, it's just a souvenir to remind me that the chicken business has made me what I am now," Tujo said of his Mercedes.