SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has inspected the recently opened first 3.5-hectare of Metro Pacific Fresh Farms, a sprawling vegetable greenhouse complex in Barangay Salapungan, San Rafael, Bulacan.
This showcases the facility as the largest vegetable greenhouse in the country, a result of the flourishing Philippines-Israel collaboration in agribusiness investments. It is owned by Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV) in partnership with an Israeli-firm LR Group, which equipped the farm with modern agricultural technology.
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.
