Industrial Layout (Part 2)

Although Luzon is summer all year round, the temperature in February is slightly lower, making it relatively comfortable.

Limanan City in the southern part of Luzon Island.

At the headquarters of Haitian Agriculture, Zhang Wei flipped through the progress reports of various projects, rubbed his temples, picked up a thermos cup, and took a sip of oolong tea.

The work of building 600,000 mu of Haitian Agriculture this year, as well as projects like insect farming plants, mushroom cultivation plants, and feed processing plants, all put immense pressure on him.

Recently, the head office issued another directive, asking Haitian Agriculture to prepare an Agricultural Association.

He had read the proposal for the Agricultural Association and knew it was a massive project. The overall plan seemed to reference Japan's agricultural associations, yet with some differences.

According to the first phase goal described in the proposal, the plan was to establish 80 distinctive agricultural cooperatives this year, involving about 80,000 farming households.

He picked up the phone, "Man Ling."

"Yes, Manager Zhang, please instruct me," replied Assistant Man Ling.

"Notify the supervisors of each department to attend a meeting on the fifth floor conference room at 2:30 PM to discuss matters concerning the Agricultural Association. Have them prepare a proposal based on their respective departments."

"Okay."

2:30 PM.

In the conference room, over a dozen department supervisors gathered.

After Zhang Wei arrived, he cut to the chase without any preamble: "Tell me, how should we advance the Agricultural Association? The head office has high hopes for us, so don't mess things up at this critical juncture."

The head of the Haitian Agriculture Business Unit directly threw up his hands: "Manager Zhang, I'm still pushing the 600,000 mu Haitian Agriculture project. I don't have the bandwidth to participate in the Agricultural Association."

The Insect Farming Business Unit and the Mushroom Cultivation Business Unit also appeared to be unable to help.

Zhang Wei understood their situation, but he still reminded them, "While it's understandable that the Haitian Agriculture Business Unit doesn't have time, the Insect Farming Business Unit and the Mushroom Cultivation Business Unit still need to contribute."

"Uh? Are you asking us to promote insect farming and mushroom cultivation to farmers?" the head of the Mushroom Cultivation Business Unit asked hesitantly.

Zhang Wei inquired, "How many varieties of mushrooms does the Mushroom Business Unit currently have in terms of cultivation technology?"

"Currently, we have six varieties: paddy straw mushroom, shiitake mushroom, oyster mushroom, wood ear mushroom, button mushroom, and enoki mushroom. These are all common varieties in the market."

Zhang Wei wrote down the names of these mushroom varieties in his notebook and added the number 12 after them: "The Mushroom Business Unit will be responsible for technical support for 12 cooperatives. You will supply them with spawn, and the company will provide them with financial support and sales channels."

"12 cooperatives?" The head of the Mushroom Cultivation Business Unit frowned, "We ourselves are establishing large-scale cultivation factories. These small farms don't have a cost advantage!"

Zhang Wei waved his hand, "Don't worry, the company won't do business at a loss. These mushrooms will be purchased by Abundant Home. As long as they follow instructions, we can make them designated suppliers for Abundant Home. We must persevere, even if it means subsidizing farmers in the early stages."

In reality, Haitian Agriculture's strategy was scale and market monopolization.

Even if other small farmers and families tried to compete, they wouldn't be able to stand against Haitian Agriculture.

Once market monopoly was achieved, others would have no choice but to exit the market.

For insect farming, Zhang Wei also instructed the Insect Farming Business Unit to provide technical support and seedlings, focusing on supporting six varieties: locusts, crickets, mealworms, silkworms, scorpions, and earthworms, also for 12 cooperatives.

The remaining cooperative slots would be filled by fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products.

Everything produced by these cooperatives would be uniformly purchased by Haitian Agriculture, processed, and then supplied to Abundant Home or consumed internally by Haitian Agriculture.

Limanan and the areas around Darte Port were the first to be affected.

A small mountainous town called Snake Mountain Town was currently abuzz with discussions about the cooperatives that had recently expanded into the area.

As the biggest landowner in the town, Master Basa was clearly resistant and hostile towards the arrival of the cooperatives.

A young man with yellow teeth asked, "Uncle, should we cooperate with Haitian Agriculture?"

"Cooperate with what? Do I lack a few million? Tell everyone in the family not to cooperate with Haitian Agriculture," Master Basa spat.

His family was a local power, with connections in Manila. Basa himself owned over 3,000 mu of mountainous land, planted with rambutan and wax apple, and could access the Manila market through his own channels, so he naturally looked down on Haitian Agriculture.

However, the farmers in the town were not just the Basa family. Although their family occupied about 33% of Snake Mountain Town's land, other farmers were also related to the Basa family.

The issue was the degree of closeness; some had good relationships, while others had average or even poor relationships.

As a major landowner, the Basa family had a lot of land but not a large population, accounting for only about 3% of the town's total population.

Farmers with only small plots of land, after hearing the cooperatives' promotions, although they didn't appear overly eager, many were already tempted. They were just waiting for the first person to take the plunge.

People often liked to blindly follow trends.

The Snake Mountain Town Agricultural Cooperative project involved the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and rice.

Soon, the first person to take the plunge appeared.

A farmer named Roller signed the first contract. The 1.3 mu of mango groves and 0.3 mu of paddy fields under his family's name were incorporated into the cooperative.

Becoming a contracted farmer of the cooperative meant that they had to grow the agricultural products designated by the cooperative, and the prices of these products were fixed, adjusted once a year.

Moreover, the cooperative also provided insurance, ensuring that farmers and the cooperative would not go bankrupt in the event of natural disasters and force majeure.

Seeing the price Roller signed for, which was about 18% higher than the price Master Basa offered for mangoes, other small farmers were also tempted.

In the face of profit, the farmers didn't care. Even some farmers who had relatively good relationships with the Basa family ignored the Basa family's ban.

The head of the cooperative clapped his hands on a thick stack of contracts and sneered mockingly, "It seems that in front of money, Master Basa's words are not as useful as a single Peso."

"Boss, will those guys cause trouble?" the salesman asked worriedly.

The cooperative's person in charge showed no fear on his face. "Heh, don't forget who's behind us. If he doesn't want to go out with dignity, we'll help him."

Just as the person in charge said, the Basa family was merely a small local family. Faced with a behemoth like the Fernando family, they didn't dare resort to violence.

These small families would soon feel what malice was.

Abundant Home, with its complete transportation logistics and food supply chain, quickly opened convenience supermarkets in various small towns, snatching the markets these small families had previously monopolized.

Contracted farmers could also receive discounts similar to employee benefits, and within the cooperative, there were affordable pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural machinery, along with professional technical support.

This made even more farmers restless, and the number of farmers wanting to join the cooperative increased.

Farmers who did not cooperate, on the other hand, had to face higher production costs, solve their own sales and transportation channels, and purchase their own insurance. This was simply bleeding them dry.

Even the large landowners were struggling to cope at this point.

Thank you all for your support (ω｀), please collect, monthly pass, and recommendation tickets.