Tony Peng: Adding value to fertilizer
Tony Peng was just 23 when he moved to Malaysia with his father in 1997. After weighing opportunities related to what were then Taiwan’s two dominant industries—electronics and agriculture—Peng decided to seek his fortune in the latter.
Malaysia is an agricultural powerhouse with a farming sector that excels at running large-scale operations. In contrast, Taiwan’s small geographic footprint has encouraged it to focus on precision agriculture. Peng’s business began as an effort to apply Taiwanese precision agriculture and biotechnology to Malaysian-style large-scale farming, to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of both approaches.
Running a farm requires juggling six key elements: crops, climate, soil, management, pest and disease control, and fertilizers. Peng began with fertilizers, first seeking assistance from relevant agencies and organizations in Taiwan, then applying his own hard-won knowledge to refining what he learned from them. He had a lot to learn and studied his then bible—Academia Sinica scientist Young Chiu-chung’s Soil and Fertilizer—from cover to cover. He also studied biotech, soil science, crop nutrition and pest control, in effect working through a university-level course of study on his own. Peng diligently applied himself to his textbooks and also carried out experiments in the field, meanwhile slowly shifting his product line away from purely organic fertilizers to “functional fertilizers” containing organic, chemical, and microbial elements.
What is a “functional fertilizer?” Peng compares it to the Android smartphone ecosystem, explaining that his fertilizer includes a variety of microbes and fungi, which extend its functionality in much the way that apps extend a phone operating system’s functionality. Spelling his analogy out further, he says that supplementing a nutrient-only traditional fertilizer with organic matter and fungi results in a smarter and more functional fertilizer.
“What we’re doing is applying biotechnology to traditional agriculture,” continues Peng, explaining that while anyone can make fertilizer, his company’s unique processing adds value to its products.
Founded in 2001, ACBT didn’t break even until 2008, but has since gone on to become Asia’s largest chemical‡organic fertilizer maker, with more than 80% of the Malaysian market. Its products have not only been certified by the Malaysian government’s palm oil, rubber, and pepper boards, but are also exported to the Philippines and Indonesia. In 2009, one of Malaysia’s sultans awarded Peng the honorific title of “Dato’” for his contributions to the Malaysian state and designated him a consultant on green agriculture. Taiwan, meanwhile, named Peng an overseas model entrepreneur in 2010.
Peng’s words mask his pride in achievements gained through genuine hard work and strength of character. The value-added he has created with his functional fertilizers also points to the future of the industry.
All Cosmos Bio-Tech Holdings is Asia’s largest manufacturer of chemical–organic fertilizer. (courtesy of ACBT)