YELLOW BELL PEPPER. Department of Agriculture-Cordillera agriculturist Juliet Ochosan explains the Smart Greenhouse Philippine Project which the agency put up with help from South Korea to improve the productivity of vegetables using Korean technology at the DA-CAR’s Bureau of Plant industry compound here. Sixteen farmers from Benguet towns comprise the second batch of learners who are now at the end of their six-month training. (PNA photo by Pigeon Lobien)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) is providing Benguet farmers with advanced Korean technology to increase productivity and profitability.
At least 16 farmers from Benguet towns are about to finish their six-month training at the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) here that will enable them to increase productivity if they adopt the technology provided for by the Smart Greenhouse Philippines Project (SGPP).
The SGPP is a Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Korea Agency Education, Promotion and Information Services (EPIS) that is a supported project of the DA.
BPI supervising agriculturist Juliet Ochasan said on Thursday the Korean-backed project is a four-year program aimed to train highland farmers.
The greenhouses have cherry tomatoes and dephnis variety of the same crop as well as bell pepper of the paprika variety.
Ochasan said eight greenhouses have been constructed and had been “designed as an education facility for Benguet farmers.”
A ninth greenhouse was also built used for research and development.
She said the 16 farmers are also given advanced training on the environment where the crops will thrive with the use of the greenhouse that uses computers to control temperature, humidity, and sunlight.
The farmers could be provided with works from their Korean partner, a short stay in Seoul, Korea where they could work in “farms” so they could earn money enough to construct the same greenhouse set-up, she added.
“Everything is automated,” she said, adding that the greenhouse will provide the perfect environment to maximize production.
She also suggested that the farmers should form a cooperative that while they provide the basic technology, other agencies like the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), as well as the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), could now come in to provide their assistance.
The DA-Cordillera also teaches the farmers how to market their products.
Another component of the training is sales management which is aimed to improve the farmer’s profitability by having a direct link with the market.
She said for cherry tomatoes alone, they could sell it at PHP200 per kilo but could be availed at PHP600 a kilo in supermarkets.
Started in 2018, the SGPP is a PHP122.29-million project inaugurated on March 8, 2019.
Another batch of 16 farmers will start their training early next year, Ochosan said. (PNA)
