From Farm Operator to Agrifood Entrepreneur: Connecting Women, Food Systems and Regional Action

Agriculture has always been about more than growing food. It is about people, resilience, livelihoods and the ability to turn limited resources into sustainable economic value.

Across Asia, a new generation of agrifood entrepreneurs is emerging—many of them women who are moving beyond traditional farming to build integrated businesses spanning production, processing, sustainability, technology and markets.

Suguna Selvaraja is one such emerging agrifood entrepreneur.

Ten years ago, at the age of 34, Suguna entered agriculture while looking for a way to support her family. What began as an opportunity to work on a farm developed into a decade-long journey of hands-on learning, operational leadership and commercial agribusiness development.

Under early mentorship, she progressed from farm operations into managing production, supply chains, processing, resource recovery and agricultural education.

From Farm Operations to Integrated Agribusiness

Suguna’s experience demonstrates the breadth of capability that can be developed through practical agricultural entrepreneurship.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns, she managed a 2-acre farm while maintaining commercial supply operations, organising the packaging and delivery of approximately two tonnes of fresh produce per week to Singapore.

At the same time, she developed practical approaches to circular agriculture by converting locally available organic waste into liquid bio-fertilisers and vermicompost, reducing waste while creating additional value from farm resources.

Her experience subsequently expanded beyond primary production. She ventured into value-added products including Moringa tea and nutritional powder, while also gaining experience integrating aquaculture and poultry into agricultural operations.

She later managed a 5-acre herbal nursery with more than 5,000 plants, further demonstrating her ability to coordinate diversified agricultural activities at commercial scale.

Her commitment to continuous learning has also been significant. Over the years, she has obtained more than 20 government-recognised certifications covering areas including livestock feed, biosecurity and hydroponics. She has also contributed to agricultural outreach involving 10 local schools and five university projects.

Her journey demonstrates an important reality of agricultural transformation: successful modern agriculture requires more than farming skills. It requires operational discipline, supply-chain understanding, resource management, market awareness and continuous learning.

The Next Chapter: A 20-Acre Enterprise in Miri

Today, Suguna is taking the next step—from managing agricultural operations to building her own agribusiness enterprise.

In Miri, Sarawak, she is developing a 20-acre integrated agricultural project focused initially on sheep and goat breeding alongside crop production.

The project represents more than the establishment of another farm.

It provides an opportunity to demonstrate how a commercially minded agricultural operator can build an integrated production platform connecting livestock, crops, resource utilisation, downstream processing and market development.

More importantly, Miri can become a practical environment where new technologies, operating models, training approaches and market linkages can be introduced, tested and adapted to local conditions.

This is precisely the type of grassroots capability that needs to be identified, supported and connected to broader regional ecosystems.

Connecting Global Food-System Priorities with Local Action

Around the world, food security, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, innovation, and the participation of women and youth are increasingly central to discussions about the future of agrifood systems.

International initiatives such as the World Food Forum  Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative), hosted within the Office of Youth and Women (OYW) of FAO is a dynamic platform empowering youth to transform agrifood systems for a better food future. It provides young people with the tools, knowledge and networks needed to create and scale actionable and sustainable solutions.

quoted from WFF mission at https://youth.world-food-forum.org/who-we-are/about-us/en

But transformation ultimately has to happen on the ground.

For Asia, this creates an important opportunity: connecting global and regional conversations with credible local entrepreneurs, commercially viable projects and practical implementation.

China and Southeast Asia have particularly complementary strengths.

China has significant agricultural technology, manufacturing capacity, research capabilities and increasingly sophisticated agrifood value chains. Southeast Asia offers diverse agricultural resources, growing food markets, production opportunities and a strong entrepreneurial base.

The opportunity is to build practical bridges between these ecosystems.

From Dialogue to Demonstration

This is where projects such as Miri become relevant.

Rather than viewing the project simply as a livestock farm, Miri can become a practical demonstration platform for integrated agriculture, circular resource utilisation, technology adoption, skills development, women entrepreneurship and regional market connectivity.

A technology developed elsewhere, for example, may need to be tested under Malaysian farming conditions before wider commercial adoption. A local operator may require access to technical expertise, financing, markets or downstream partners before being able to scale.

Connecting these individual pieces is often the missing link.

At Zebrafish Capital, this is the role we seek to play.

We identify capable local operators and commercially relevant projects, then connect them with technology providers, research institutions, markets, capital and strategic partners across different countries.

We do not seek to own or operate every part of the value chain.

Our role is to orchestrate the ecosystem around credible operators and opportunities, helping different partners contribute what they do best while creating pathways from technology and ideas to commercial implementation.

Women as Operators, Entrepreneurs and Ecosystem Builders

This is also why the story of women in agriculture should go beyond empowerment alone.

Women should increasingly be recognised as operators, entrepreneurs, employers, innovators and ecosystem builders.

Suguna’s journey illustrates this transition.

Her decade of practical experience provides the operational foundation. The Miri project provides a platform for the next stage of growth. Regional and international networks can provide access to knowledge, technology, markets and partnerships.

The objective is not to make Suguna a symbol.

It is to demonstrate what becomes possible when capable local entrepreneurs are connected to a wider food-system ecosystem.

Building Practical Bridges Across Asia

The broader ambition is to create more pathways between Asia’s different agrifood ecosystems—connecting technology, production capabilities, research, capital, markets and entrepreneurs across borders.

Global platforms can help shape the conversation.

Governments can provide policy and infrastructure.

Research institutions can provide science and technology.

Investors can provide capital.

Industry can provide technology, markets and commercial capabilities.

But ultimately, entrepreneurs and operators on the ground turn these resources into real-world outcomes.

Miri can be one such platform.

Suguna can be one such entrepreneur.

And Zebrafish Capital can help connect the different pieces.

The longer-term ambition is to build a network of practical living laboratories across Asia—places where technologies, business models and approaches to sustainable agriculture can be tested, adapted, commercialised and eventually scaled.

This is how regional food-system collaboration can move from conversation to implementation.

From global dialogue to local action.

From individual capability to enterprise.

From enterprise to ecosystem.

And from ecosystem to regional impact.