When Alan Wei was nine, he asked his mother how he came into the world.

She innocently replied: “Oh, you were an accident, but we are glad to have you.”

“Her response troubled me greatly, and I began to seek a purpose in life,” Alan, now 39, recalled.

After university, the Sarawakian landed a job with a pesticide and fertiliser company. It was his first exposure to the world of agriculture – and to the community of farmers behind the produce.

“I travelled across Malaysia meeting farmers and began to grow very fond of them. Little did I know that God was planting a seed in my heart,” he said.

Seeking out witch doctors

Though Alan’s family did not support his desire to become a farmer, the calling remained.

In 2014, he struck out on his own.

At 28, he founded Hornbill Agriculture Sdn Bhd (HASB) with RM120,000 (S$36,000) in capital and a five-acre land lease. From the outset, however, his business faced financial troubles.

“Although I was a Christian, I began seeking bomoh (witch doctors) and mediums for divine protection and favour,” Alan said soberly.

In 2016, he sought out a famous medium in Miri. After waiting four days, the man refused to see him.

“I paid him more and he finally gave me a tip: One who could solve my problems has appeared in my life, is someone of my own kind, and has power and authority. I had no idea who that could be,” he said.

Alan called his wife, Kaylee, and immediately, she suggested this ‘problem-solver’ might be Pastor Jeffrey Wei, one of Alan’s distant cousins.

Discovering a God with real power

Alan and Kaylee had started attending Pastor Jeffrey Wei’s church, Good News Fellowship Church, after Pastor Jeffrey brought a group of Christian rural farmers to HASB.

To meet a Wei who was a pastor was unusual as the Wei family did not have a good reputation, said Alan. Intrigued, he had attended the church but had also kept his distance.

Alan, Kaylee and their two daughters.

After Kaylee suggested Pastor Jeffrey might be the key to his problems, Alan came clean to his cousin about his use of charms and shamans.

“With compassion, he led me once more in the Salvation Prayer and renunciation of all the charms that I had on my person and in my home,” he said.

Alan’s conversion was genuine, fuelled by his desperate search for a God who truly cared.

Kaylee, however, did not yet believe.

Finding healing and hope

In 2017, Alan was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. His marriage and career began to suffer. A year later, he discontinued medication with his psychiatrist’s permission, but healing did not begin.

After Alan’s water baptism, Pastor Jeffrey recommended him to attend a three-day camp by HAGGAI International, which equips Christian leaders to share the love of Christ with their communities.

After the camp, Kaylee saw a significant change: Alan was his former self, talking again about his dreams and life mission.

She then shared that while he was away, the Lord had appeared to her in a dream.

“He asked her, ‘If I can change Alan, will you become My daughter?’ When she saw my transformation, she gave her life to the Lord,” Alan said.

The head and not the tail

For the next five years, Alan worked tirelessly, driven by a desire to help rural farmers.

Opportunities opened up to manage more land and expand his crop portfolio. Sales seemed promising, and he dreamed of launching an initial public offering (IPO) one day.

“But whenever the financial year closed and my auditors came, I would end up in the red. For some reason, I was always making losses. It was incredibly frustrating,” Alan said.

Once a struggling businessman seeking divine help from witch doctors and mediums, Alan Wei found his purpose when he found Christ.

After much persuasion from his church accountant, who has a gift for numbers, he showed her the audited reports.

Less than three hours later, everything changed.

“Something is wrong. Your capitalisation was not calculated accurately, which has detrimentally impacted your valuation and profit. You need to get top-tier auditors to review this,” she told him.

Alan was then advised by two friends (also investors) to consult the Big 4 accounting firms (Ernst & Young, Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG).

One of the Big 4 firms took him on. When they presented a report showing how his books should have been over the past seven years, Alan broke down in tears.

“I wasn’t bad at business after all. It was an account and audit misalignment. In just one day, God turned my life around – from a failed businessman to a successful entrepreneur,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “From a company full of debt to a highly investable company.”

In that moment, a Scripture he had always clung to came to mind: If we faithfully follow the Lord and His commands, we will be the first and not the last, the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13).

Farming as his business and mission

Three years on, HASB is thriving.

“We currently lease 135 acres from local authorities and native landowners, where we grow and sell 12 crop portfolios. Our main ones are corn, watermelon, golden brinjal (terung asam), and okra,” Alan said.

Alan’s company, Hornbill Agriculture Sdn Bhd, currently leases 135 acres with 12 crop portfolios.

HASB partners with contract farmers by providing training, fertiliser and manpower. Alan also mentors and disciples Christian farmers.

“Everyone needs and relies on farmers, but no one really wants to help them. Grants and initiatives come and go, but the farmers remain poor while contractors and suppliers become richer,” he said.

More aware of the systemic challenges farmers face, Alan expanded into wholesale and retail to protect his farmers from exploitation and ensure they earn a satisfactory profit margin.

His first retail grocer, Farm Direct Shop in Kuching, caps its gross profit margin at 20%, with 80% going back to the producers. It is guided by its motto, ‘More for Others. Less for Self. Enough for All’.

HASB’s retail grocer, Farm Direct Shop in Kuching, works with 508 farmers to sell produce and caps its gross profit margin at 20%, with 80% going back to the producers.

There are 508 farmers working with Farm Direct Shop today.

“I see my farming business as a mission field. We are looking to form a foundation for Christian farmers, so that we can exchange learnings and grow together.”

Creation care is part of stewardship

Alan added that the business is not just about the farmers, but also about caring for the land that God has given them to steward.

He is a strong advocate for regenerative farming – a deliberate approach that reduces the use of pesticides, synthetics and chemicals on the land.

Corn is one of HASB’s four main portfolios, with the other three being watermelon, golden brinjal and okra.

“We don’t practise monocropping (planting the same crop repeatedly) because it depletes the land’s minerals. By practicing crop rotation, integration and fallow, we use fewer pesticides and fertilisers, and the environment gets a chance to rest and reset,” he explained.

HASB has followed these practices for a decade. So far, there has been no significant pest outbreak.

Alan has also built an in-house composting site to process farm waste. Additionally, they source chicken dung from nearby poultry farms. “Their ESG waste is gold for us as fertiliser,” he said with a chuckle.

Alan (in stripes) teaching a group of Christian rural farmers about composting.

Sarawak’s air is also naturally rich in Beneficial Indigenous Microorganisms (BIMO) due to the state’s dense rainforest.

So Alan formed a team to harvest BIMO across his farmland, which are then reapplied to enrich the soil and environment. With this, HASB has been recognised for its tech farming solutions.

“All of our practices lead to richer soil and a balanced environment, which in turn results in healthier farmers and communities,” he said.

A vessel once emptied, now filled for God’s glory

In the next phase of his business, Alan hopes to scale.

“I’m praying for Christian investors because investors have a big say in business strategy, and as I want to build farming as mission, we need the same goal of advancing God’s kingdom,” he shared.

Finding investors is challenging, and narrowing the criteria to like-minded believers may seem impractical to some. Yet, Alan remains steadfast in his prayers.

He is also passionate about entrepreneurship and hopes to create more awareness on choosing the right auditors who will “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”.

“If you really want a sense of purpose from God, you have to be willing to lose it all. I lost everything, but now I see that God was emptying me so He could fill me with His love and a greater purpose,” he said.

From a struggling businessman weighed down by debt and depression to a successful agro-preneur filled with hope, Alan has experienced this truth firsthand: Seek first His kingdom, and everything else will be added to you.

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