• Wider margin for fresh produce suppliers, bigger savings for business owners

• New employment opportunities

OURFARM entered the agribusiness industry with aspirations to disrupt, as well as to make a difference within the communities that it serves. 

One month in since it was launched by Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries, Datuk Seri Dr. Ronald Kiandee, OURFARM has progressed steadily with over 500 agriculture producers on board, catering to businesses around the Klang Valley and has so far re-employed 24 AirAsia Allstars. 

Lalitha Sivanaser, CEO of OURFARM shares more about what took place in the past month and where they’re headed next. 

Conquering unchartered territories with confidence 

1. Can you share what has been OURFARM’s progress since its launch on 15 June 2020?

The past month has been challenging yet rewarding for the team at OURFARM. We received tremendous support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MOA) which provided special access to an extensive database of over 1,000 registered agricultural producers. 

As we are mainly a matchmaking platform between the producers and businesses, we were able to use this network that MOA shared with us to establish marketing opportunities for the producers, and pave the way to a more sustainable business solution for them.

And as the business grows, it is imperative to have the right people to drive it forward together. We have also managed to reemploy 24 AirAsia Allstars who were affected by the rightsizing exercise and their skills and capabilities have really added value to the team. 

2. How many agriculture producers have registered with OURFARM and what is your target?

When we first started, we were only engaging with close to 350 registered agricultural producers under MOA, but now we have private and independent producers reaching out to us and now we have about 500 producers. 

By the end of year 2020, we are targeting about 800 or 70% of the registered agricultural producers under MOA as well as private and independent farmers on our platform. 

3. What are some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

When we have about 500 producers onboard in the same area, chances are they offer the same type of produce. This is where digital solutions especially through Artificial Intelligence (AI) come into play. Through AI, we matched the specifications based on quantity, pricing and the nearest points of delivery. This digital solution provides lower costs and ensures that fresh produce arrives in a timely manner to our clients. 

Another challenge is the shortage of certain produce such as Red Tilapia or Malaysian-grown carrots in the market due to several producers having gone out of the business during the Movement Control Order (MCO). Hence, we had to do several layers of filtering and searching to make sure we match their offerings perfectly with our clients. 

In the next six to eight months, we are planning to have our own warehouse to ensure fresh produce that are high in demand will be readily available and sufficiently stocked to avoid losses during downtime.

But the main challenge for us is that the whole team is from a different industry, entering into unchartered territories and overcoming it in a short period of time, learning and familiarising with the specifications of our clients’ needs and providing top-notch service so far. This is no easy feat, and I would like to commend my whole OURFARM family for taking up the challenge. 

4. What is the short-term and long-term expansion plan for OURFARM?

In the short-tem, OURFARM will be expanding to East Malaysia, starting with Sabah in August. Since our launch, we received overwhelming requests from over 190 producers based in Sabah, with 15% from the requests coming from fisheries and aquaculture. We have looked into the requests and further studied the demand and supply environment in Sabah and we decided that it will be OURFARM’s second launchpad location. 

In the long-run, we are planning to connect producers and businesses nationwide, including the potential to build export/import capabilities and regional expansion in the longer term.

Rooting for our people

5. With the expansion in the pipeline, how do you ensure that OURFARM is able to meet the growing demands?

OURFARM leverages AirAsia's robust all-encompassing ecosystem, which includes cargo, logistics and payment capabilities to meet our growing demands. We understand that higher demands require adequate human capital, hence we have recently expanded our team by reemploying 24 previous AirAsia’s employees such as cabin crew and ground staff.

6. Why did you re-employ AirAsia Allstars to join OURFARM?

The very first sale secured for OURFARM was actually by a cabin crew, and that alone speaks of how versatile and resilient the AirAsia workforce is. We did not look any further when we are hiring simply because we know they already have the skill sets that we need. 

The energy levels that AirAsia Allstars have is remarkable. In the case of cabin crew, they are trained to communicate effectively, and stay calm in dealing with different people or situations. That’s the sort of characteristics that they display that our farmers as well as the businesses tend to resonate very well with. 

In addition, they are all professionally trained to handle food, safety and cleanliness. It was also a requirement for them to get vaccinated. With all the certifications they’ve gone through, they actually understand the food industry very well, so when they’re in the F&B industry, they have a good perspective of what to look out for, and what to do. This is very valuable to us. 

The retrenched staff have good quality coupled with great attitude. That’s all we need. None of us have any experience in agriculture, so that's never an issue. 

Cabin crew would already have strong background knowledge in food safety and handling as they would have undergone these training as a crew. So when they meet with any F&B client, they are already familiar with what the client wants or requires. 

Furthermore, cabin crew are very approachable and friendly but also trained to remain calm in all types of situations. These characteristics resonate very well with the producers and business owners.

Green shoots of progress 

7. As a disruptor, how many small businesses have benefited from OURFARM?

So far, small businesses who have used OURFARM have recorded between 10% - 25% savings for Grade A produce that they ordered. 

One of them is a seafood restaurant which ordered three deliveries of tilapia fish from us and has expanded their order to include vegetables as well. Another is a health-conscious snack brand who ordered two deliveries of 270kg of Malaysian carrots each from us and a grilled chicken restaurant run by AirAsia Allstars with a sizeable weekly order of birds from us, among others.

We also assisted bigger businesses, such as sourcing fresh vegetables for a gourmet pet food company, ‘Cekur’ leaves for a traditional medicine company, fish bones for medicine capsule manufacturers and many others.

8. What advice do you have for those who are interested to register with OURFARM?

We welcome all agriculture producers and business owners to register with us, especially if you are a small business owner. Whether you are an independent or private producer or business owner, OURFARM will match your demands to the right supplier. 

This will also help to ensure that we play our part in supporting the environment by preventing wastage as buyers can scale their purchase volume according to their actual needs through our platform.

To sign up, interested businesses can visit the OURFARM website at www.ourfarm.asia or write in to moo@ourfarm.asia.