Tomato is a must-have ingredient in some of the Filipino’s famous dishes. But commonly, tomatoes are processed into sauce, which makes pasta and fried dishes exceptional.
Interestingly, this ingenious young agri-preneur from Ifugao has found a new way to enjoy tomatoes the sweet way.
When she decided to go home to Banaue after living and working in Baguio City for several years, 29-year-old Justina Nadiahan noticed the struggles of tomato farmers. She bemoaned the overproduction issue, which constantly impacts the livelihood of local farmers. When Justina explored how to turn this problem into a solution, an epiphany occurred to her, and she began to consider starting “Country ‘Vest.”
Upon doing research and talking to the farmers, Justina found out that there are little to no tomato products locally, and all of the tomato products are imported. Moreover, she thinks that most locally processed tomato products are transient and will stop production when the problem has already been solved. Justina wanted something permanent that could save the perennial problem of tomato oversupply. This gave birth to the “first-ever tomato spread in the Philippines,” which she coined “Pomme d’amour.”
“I wanted to come up with an idea that is more focused on agriculture. The first idea was to help the farmers procure some farming tools and supplies. The tomato processing was just a secondary idea. But for us to help them (farmers), there has to be a way to preserve these tomatoes to something that is not already existing in the market,” Justina explained.
To create Pomme d’amour, tomatoes are processed into a mushy, sweet spread perfect to complement bread and other pastries. Since farmers only transport half-ripe tomatoes to the Nueva Ecija Agricultural Terminal (NVAT), Justina explained that they process the ripe tomatoes as they are usually the surplus in farms.
NVAT at Bambang in Nueva Ecija is a primary trading center of all the farm produce from Ifugao. According to Ammunga Cooperative, 70 percent of farm goods traded or sold in NVAT come from Ifugao.
“It is saddening to see the crops go to waste due to oversupply when the fruit of our farmers’ labor should be very rewarding rather than disheartening. With this enterprise and our advocacy, we will strive to lessen the tomato surplus. Pomme d’amour tomato spread is a product of admiration and perspiration. We will not exist without the perspiration of our farmers, and of course, with our inspiration as an enterprise,” Justina said.
Pomme d’amour paved the way for Justina to join the Young Farmers’ Challenge (YFC) of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Despite knowing the struggles of pitching a business, Justina took the risk because she thought of the positive impact of becoming a part of YFC, especially since she’s representing her municipality.
“The reason why I joined YFC is that I have a mission to tell what we are actually doing and why we exist. With this challenge, at least we were able to let people know that this is what we do. The second reason why I joined YFC is that I like it so much when I am with like-minded people those people who have inspiration and motivation to do a social enterprise and who like to take a risk,” said Justina.
Justina carried on from the provincial to the regional level, where her enterprise was selected as one of the seven business model canvases that competed in the YFC national-level competition. She ended her journey in the first phase of the national competition in November 2022.
Despite not qualifying for the second and final phase, Justina said she would not stop spreading her advocacy to help the farmers through her social enterprise.
“I am still grateful that I was able to make it in the first phase of the [YFC] national competition. I am not stopping because I have an advocacy. This is a social enterprise. I am already happy that I was able to be a part of the regional [competition] because from there, we were able to spread the advocacy of the [social enterprise],” Justina expressed, adding that she was also thankful for the YFC since she met other businesspersons, stakeholders, and future partners.
Also, because of YFC, Justina became known in the DA-Cordillera as the “Tomato Queen.”
Justina is slowly improving some aspects of her business with the help of the YFC’s competitive financial grant. With her combined cash prize of P200,000 from the provincial and regional-level competition, she was able to buy some raw materials and some tools for her business. She was also able to renovate her processing area.
“The cash prize helped a lot. I was given more chances to procure at least what I needed for the business. I am spending the grant slowly so that I can assess what my enterprise really calls for before I decide to buy equipment,” Justina added.
To promote Pomme d’amour, she would hand out free samples to restaurants and hotels. If these businesses showed interest in her product, she would offer them to pre-order, and some would purchase on a consignment deal.
“My challenge right now is how to introduce the product because this is new in the market. Other customers would fret because they think the spread would be sour. But luckily, they come back once they have tasted it,” Justina shared, adding that she capitalizes on the social enterprise’s advocacy in selling her product.
Despite the challenges, Country ‘Vest is continuously bridging the gap between the farmers and the market, easing the struggles of tomato farmers who constantly laments about oversupply.
“It is rewarding in a way that we are able to accommodate our farmers. At least, we are giving a beam of hope because the farmers see us as someone who is helping them, showing them that there is still opportunity in whatever kind of crisis we are experiencing,” Justina said.
She also continuously taps the help of other public and private partners to help her promote Pomme d’ amour to the market. Likewise, the Municipality of Banaue also taps Justina to help other farmers in Banaue and other municipalities.
“It is also rewarding to get the support of the generous Department of Agriculture, the LGU, and other partners who are helping us because they know that Country ‘Vest exists with an advocacy to help the farmers,” Justina said.
When asked to advise her fellow agri-preneurs, Justina responded: “Don’t give up. Take the risk. Even how far or difficult the support is from anyone, as long as you have the reason why you are doing it, just do it. If there will be failures and difficulties, think of them as a part of the business. As long as you’re moving forward if you have to walk, you walk; if you have to run, you run success will be on its way. Business is gambling. At the end of the day, if you have the tenacity and inspiration to hold on, you will succeed.”
Pomme d’amour is not just a product but also a symbol of hope for local farmers. By supporting and giving them a new market for their crops, Justina is helping farmers keep their livelihoods afloat. By JBPeralta
