Nine ‘smart greenhouses”, worth PHP122-million which are fully automated, have been set up in the city for the training of farmers, equipping them with knowledge on how to run a modern greenhouse facility. The facilities, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, were inaugurated on Friday by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol. (Photo by Pamela Mariz Geminiano/PNA)
BAGUIO CITY -- Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel "Manny" Piñol on Friday reiterated the importance of modernizing agricultural processes as he opened the “Smart Greenhouse Philippines” pilot project at the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) compound here that was funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
"We have a lot of potential in the country and the problem in the past is that we did not explore the potentials of this (Smart Greenhouse Philippines) technology," Piñol said.
He said this is the first step toward the modernization of agriculture in the Philippines, adding that "smart" agriculture is a fully automated greenhouse operated using a mobile phone.
"Even the temperature and the amount of water can be controlled by a computer or a mobile phone," Piñol said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), through its attached agency BPI, launched the pilot project establishing a farm facility, which aims to enhance production competitiveness of small and medium-sized farmers by establishing a greenhouse technology for high value-added agricultural products.
Some 70 percent of the PHP122.29-million smart greenhouse project was funded by the government of Korea through KOICA and 30 percent by private Korean companies.
Nine greenhouses were put up at the BPI compound, eight of which will be used in growing crops to be used in training farmers. One greenhouse will be utilized for research and development.
Among the products grown at the greenhouse are Korean tomatoes that are bigger than cherry tomatoes.
At least one ton is expected to be harvested every week and sold to Starlanes, Dizon farms, and UBM Corp.
The technology can also be used in growing potatoes and strawberries, among others.
"We have long been dependent on importation but if we get our acts together, we can be a major exporting country of quality farm products through technology and innovation," Piñol said.
He said Philippine agricultural products have penetrated the international market and are connected to a supermarket chain with 15,000 brands all over eastern Europe.
"They are hungry with farm products from our country. They would like to discover what the Philippines has to offer," he said.
PRRD support to agriculture
Piñol said President Rodrigo R. Duterte supports the agriculture sector and has ordered concerned agencies to provide all the necessary budget for the sector to be able to produce more food.
"President Rodrigo Duterte has given a directive to double the budget for the agriculture sector," he said, noting the department expects a PHP49-billion budget this year.
"The role of the DA is to produce food for this country and at the same time to ensure that the food producers are also lifted from poverty," he said.
"Farmers are not producing enough food because they do not have enough funds. Now, what we are doing is to double the allocation for them," Piñol said.
He said the farmers can export high-quality products from greenhouses to huge markets with the assistance coming from the government.
Easy loan access for farmers
Piñol said the Cordillera region has the biggest budget allocation for loans under the production loan easy access because of the farmers’ high repayment rate.
"The repayment rate of the indigenous peoples (IPs) here in the Cordillera is very exemplary. It is actually at 100 percent and I am very proud of that," he said.
He said there will also be a PHP130-million allotted budget for the establishment of farm-to-market roads in the region.
"The Department of Agriculture will support the Cordillera region for the modernization of the agriculture sector aside from developing the different farming areas in the whole country," he said. (PNA)
