By Elisse Perez and Janine Soliman / Special to the BusinessMirror
When CISION Enterprises opened in 2006, it was initially an advertising company that focused on printing and distributing marketing collaterals. A year later, the company president, Francis Talion, said Cision Enterprises decided to reinvent itself and ventured into agriculture.
“We distributed animal-health products such as supplements. We also sold poultry and wine,” he told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview.
Talion said the company’s foray into the processing of herbs was due to their participation in one of the projects of the Department of Agriculture (DA). While he did not elaborate, he said this opened his eyes to the potentials of planting herbs.
Because of the company’s track record, the DA tapped Cision Enterprises to help implement a project that calls for a village-level production, processing and marketing of the country’s local natural ingredients. The project, titled “Piloting Village Level Primary Processing of Selected Natural Ingredients,” concluded in April 2014.
Talion said the project’s focus was to “intensify” its marketing component. He said the DA’s ultimate goal is to export organic products that make use of herbs, such as citronella and turmeric. He said Cision Enterprises focused on turmeric or luyang dilaw, and citronella or tanglad not only because of their health benefits but also because they are easy to grow.
“Citronella is easy to grow so anyone can do it. Also, it is fast-growing, allowing farmers to immediately earn from it. Turmeric is very competitive in terms of quality and has an endless list of health benefits,” he said.
Citronella is a grass that has a rich, crisp lemony aroma and mainly grows in a number of Asian countries, including the Philippines. Studies have shown its numerous health benefits as it can be used for a number of health products. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has even classified it as a biopesticide, with a nontoxic mode of action.
Turmeric is a spice from the ginger family that is well known for its bright or golden yellow complexion. Since the 1980s studies have shown that turmeric is also known for its anti-cancer properties. However, its health benefits are not limited to treating and preventing cancer, as it is known to be an anti-venom and immune boosting.
Under the DA project, Cision Enterprises was able to come up with 10 products using these herbs, nine of which have been given a seal of approval by the Food and Drug Administration. These include insect repellants and room sprays out of citronella, and exfoliation soaps, moisturizing soaps, hair conditioner, anti-dandruff shampoo, cosmetics, blends and teas out of turmeric.
Talion said Cision Enterprises bought citronella and turmeric from local farmers in Quezon province, Laguna and Batangas, and turmeric from farmers in Samar, Mindoro and Bicol. “Actually, we had two approaches. We tapped a few private farmers, those who have their own land and are big landowners; but the majority were still from the farmer’s cooperatives since they are the ones who are most in need.”
Initially, he said, farmers were reluctant to negotiate with the company because of their previous experience with unscrupulous traders. Eventually, Talion said farmers found that dealing with Cision Enterprises is more preferable than dealing with middlemen who buy their produce at a cheap price.
1 comment
I think Gold In Grass can help you with that https://youtu.be/OLE4DUuZYcY