Cordilleran youth wins National Kabataang Agribiz, gets P.5M Grant

Baguio City, Philippines – Harry Osboken, a young Cordilleran entrepreneur, has been recognized as one of the six “Outstanding Youth Agribusiness Models” in the country during the Department of Agriculture (DA) National Young Farmers Summit (YFC) and Young Farmers Challenge: Kabataang Agribiz Awarding Ceremony held on December 17, 2021, in Calasiao, Pangasinan.

Osboken, along with the other finalists, received P300,000 grant aside from the grant provided to them during the provincial and national level, which amounts to P200, 000 each.

With the opportunity, Osboken expressed gratefulness to the agency, as this enabled them with his fellow young entrepreneurs to create and implement their agribusinesses.

“I’d like to thank DA for this wonderful opportunity. From the highlands, we [the youth] seek opportunities in agriculture. We are very grateful for the chance given to us to develop our business and to be able to express our ideas,” Osboken said.

The Kabataang Agribiz Grant Assistance Program aims to encourage younger generation to establish business ventures in line with agricultural development and food production such as crop and livestock production, fisheries, trading, processing, integrated farming, and agricultural technology by providing them financial support.

Provincial awardees provided seed capital

1,179 provincial-level awardees were given by the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) P50,000 start-up capital, while the 48 who moved up for the regional level received additional P150,000 cash grant.

Osboken’s story: How he started his venture

Based on the published article of DA-Cordillera, Osboken decided to establish his store at the age of 21 during the last quarter of 2017 after his graduation while still building up his career in the food industry sector.

The young entrepreneur admitted that due to lack of trainings and exposure to the industry, it made him feel incompetent and that deciding to do business while there are various and established competitors was a challenge for him.

Added to this, Osboken revealed that lack of connections, support system, and lack of capital made him felt the struggle was real.

“Being a young entrepreneur, he failed four (4) times. In 2018, he put up PanLok Sweets, a dessert shop that catered to parties and events, but due to his lack of experience, it was not sustained. Then, in the same year, he opened the Dalikan Food Terminal, a Cordilleran-inspired restaurant but due to insufficient knowledge of the government’s business requirements and processes, support system, and capital, again it was closed,” DA-Cordillera narrated.

He again re-opened Dalikan Restaurant in 2021, but just after a few weeks of operation, COVID-19 came, which pushed him to stop its operation. He again opened his restaurant in June 2021, but due to lack of manpower and other aspects of the business, he failed for the fourth time.

Venturing into chili sauce

In 2018, when Osboken opened the Dalikan Restaurant, the price of chili went as low as P25 per kilo, but the following year, it increased gradually to P2,000 per kilo, affecting restaurants, especially in the Cordilleras where chili is served as condiment.

With this, Osboken planned on converting the chili problem into an opportunity.

Having reminded that just like Cordillerans, people from Thailand, Singapore, and other Asian countries love chili, he began his journey in producing chili sauces which was similar to what he was making when he previously worked in Thailand.

Through DA-Cordillera, Osboken explained how he started the “Baak” sauce, or the combination of the 18 herbs and spices, an oil-based chili paste. He then made chili sauce “that does not need anything to add on and can be used directly to dishes, an all-in-one dressing that anyone can just bring anywhere”.

Osboken named them “Nalasang,” the green chili vinaigrette for the ladies who do not want too spicy dressing; “Balasang” for the guys who want spicier sauce; “Balasitang” or the yellow habanero for those who want extra hot sauce; and “Baro,” the Carolina reaper for those who wanted super-hot sauce.

His proposed business: the Dalikan’s House of Sauces'

According to Osboken, his proposed business, Dalikan’s House of Sauces' goal is to “touch more lives not limited to the agriculture sector but to all the involved stakeholders of Dalikan Foods Company which includes the farmers, distributors, logistics, and manpower. Further, the business aims to increase the number of people it is helping.”

With this, Osboken envisions a bigger market for his chili sauces and other processed food products to grow his stakeholders.

As for his message to fellow young people, Osboken says they have ro indulge themselves in agriculture, saying the country has the best climate and the best land and as the best stewards of the land, people should till it for prosperity and stability.

“To the youth, join any of the agriculture and entrepreneur activities. Do not be discouraged despite failing. Along the way, you will find success and reap the fruits of your labor. The only way to food security is agriculture; one way to have a greater chance to financial stability is business. Thus, agribusiness is the key to success,” Osboken said.

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