1ST SMART GREENHOUSE PROJECT END SUCCESSFULLY; DA-BPI TO FORMALLY ASSUME OWNERSHIP

June 27, 2022 Provincial

Four years after the project started, the Department of Agriculture-the Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) formally assumes ownership of the Smart Greenhouse Project of the Philippines (SGPP) in Baguio City following its successful project implementation.
SGPP is a collaborative project of the DA and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS).
The project started in 2018 and aims to enhance productivity and produce high-quality tomatoes using the advanced farming technology of Korea.
It has a total grant funding of USD 2.43 Million (M) or about P122.29 M, of which 70% share was provided by KOICA and 30% by three Korean private enterprises, namely, Info valley Korea Co. Ltd., Shinhan A-tec Co. Ltd., and UBrian Co. Ltd.
The SGPP has a total of nine greenhouses wherein 8 greenhouses are for the production and training of the farmers while the other one is allotted for research and development (R&D) purposes.
In his welcoming message, DA-CAR Regional Technical Director Danilo P. Daguio relayed his thanks to the Korean government and the private enterprises for considering the Cordillera region in the implementation of the SGPP.
He added that the smart greenhouses have become one of the tourist attractions in the city being the first “state of the art” greenhouse in the Philippines. This will also serve as the model for a modernized farming system that would greatly help in achieving a food-secure and the resilient Philippines.
In the report of BPI – Baguio Center Chief Dr. Jesus R. Aspuria, a total of 158 farmers have participated in the short-term intensive training since 2018. The short-term training runs for 3-5 days.
On the other hand, a total of 68 farmers completed the long-term training that last for 6 months. The 2nd batch to 4th batch of trainees received their certificates of completion during the turn-over ceremony. Only the first batch received their certificates in 2019. Some of the trainees were also invited to go to Korea for further training.
One of the farmer-trainees, Mr. Jandy Buya said that it has been a privileged being part of the project. Aside from learning new technologies in farming, it has been a wonderful experience for them to produce quality cherry tomatoes. He looks forward to going to Korea someday to learn and train more on their agricultural practices.
In the 2020 cropping season, a total of 24,343 kgs of tomato and paprika were harvested. These were being sold to Rodem (Korea), Global Food Products, Starlanes, Diamond Star, and other marketing promotion activities.
KOICA Country Director Mr. Kim Eunsub is grateful that the agency has prepared Sustainability Plans for 2022 to 2027 as he hopes that the project will still be operational even after the turn-over. He also conveyed his aspiration that through this technology, Filipino farmers will become more competitive in the agricultural scene and increase their overall income.
In the Sustainability Plan, the training of farmers will be continued as well as the research and development (R&D) to expand the applicability of smart greenhouses to other crops. At the moment, R&D activities on strawberries are in progress. The BPI-Baguio is also looking into developing a tomato production guide under the smart greenhouse based on their experience.
It was observed by EPIS Director Ms. Hwang Youngki that many young farmers showed interest and participated in the SGPP training which brings hopes that the new technology learned from the smart greenhouse will be continued and passed on to the next generation.
The turn-over ceremony was also graced by DA Undersecretary for Operations and Agrifisheries Mechanization Engr. Ariel T. Cayanan. He expressed his appreciation to the people behind the project. From a quote he learned from his mother, “You can always give even without loving but you can never love without giving,” he said that the project showed that our Korean partners truly love and care for us.
Usec. Cayanan looks forward to the time that the Philippines will be able to return the favor complementary to our Korean partners. He gave a directive for the BPI to continue to oversee the progress of the project and develop some learning modules so the trainees can keep learning even if they’re not at the actual site. Only when it’s necessary will they go inside the greenhouse to avoid the entry of foreign bodies.
To the farmer-trainees, Usec. Cayanan congratulated them and inspired them to continue learning and sharing what they learned.
“Remember this day. This is a life changer/game changer. Not every day we’ll be having this kind of blessing. So learn to take good care of it. Ingatan nyo pong mabuti,” he said.
Also present in the activity were staff from Infovalley Korea Co. Ltd. led by CEO Mr. Hwang Rae Kim, and staff from KOICA, EPIS, BPI-Baguio, and DA-CAR High-Value Crop Development Program (HVCDP).