SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday inspected the newly opened Metro Pacific Fresh Farms in San Rafael, Bulacan, a 3.5-hectare vegetable greenhouse complex that’s the largest in the country.
The facility is a result of the partnership between Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV) and Israel’s LR Group, leveraging modern agricultural technology to boost food production.
This collaboration showcases the growing Philippines-Israel partnership in agribusiness investments.
President Marcos said, in an informal dialogue with the farmers in the nearby town of San Ildefonso, this vegetable greenhouse complex shall be a model for all vegetable farm sites to increase their value added and to be affordable for the daily consumption of ordinary families.
The initial phase of the entire 22-hectare project consists of six greenhouses that can yield up to five times more than those in ordinary farms, which is equivalent to 500 metric tons of fresh vegetables yearly.
Once fully operational, it can harvest up to 1,600 metric tons of high-value commercial crops annually. This joint venture project between a Filipino and an Israeli investor removes middlemen from the value chain and will be put in quality packaging. Among the target clients of this huge agribusiness investment are hotels, restaurants, food processors and groceries.
Among the Israeli agricultural technologies applied here is the nutrient film technique for leafy green vegetables. Drip irrigation systems are also used to allow vegetables to grow with just 10% of water.
- Greenhouses are designed to withstand up to Signal No. 4 typhoons. It can also cut exposure to contaminants up to 99%. The joint venture plans to put up at least one satellite site per year across the Philippines for the next 10 years.
