MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon (PIA)—The P70.2 million Korean-funded and innovated smart greenhouses built inside the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex (NMACLRC) showcase strawberry production.

The San Andreas and Sweet Charlie strawberry varieties are now bearing plenty of fruits and will soon be harvested, DA-10 Regional Executive Director (RED) Carlene C. Collado said during the Team’s visit to the strawberry fields at NMACLRC in Dalwangan, Malaybalay City.

As one of the research centers of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Northern Mindanao, NMACLRC opened its greenhouse doors late last year after completing the construction of 11 units of said strawberry nurseries. It also demonstrated the installation of an automation system early this January.

Collado said using Korean technology will encourage more and would-be farmers to engage in the production of high-value commodities year-round, boost farm efficiencies, and spur economic activity.

“This project is very much aligned with one of DA’s key strategies on technology and innovation, including digital agriculture, to level up the region and the country’s Agri sector as well,” he said.

Other modern features of the facility include the installation of irrigation and automation system such as complex environment control, growth and development information management, and farming management, which even allows one to monitor from the comfort of their own home using smart phones.

The multimillion-peso collaborative project, dubbed as ‘Establishment of Smart Greenhouse and Capacity Building in the Philippines’, is primarily funded by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs thru its Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Services in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Philippines—with DA-10 RED Collado leading the way.

Carlota S. Madriaga, DA-10 regional technical director for operations, meanwhile, lauded the Korean government's support for the interventions and assistance provided to the Philippine government, which are ultimately aimed at increasing Filipino farmers’ production of high-value crops such as strawberry, tomato, potato, and pepper, among other crops.

For her part, Carmelita T. Bajarla, DA-NorMin regional technical director for Research and Regulations shared that the Korean technology is timely and appropriate to keep farmers abreast with the demands of time.

“Without agriculture, we cannot feed the increasing population of the country. A stronger partnership among agri stakeholders is thus imperative for us to motivate the LGUs and farmers to adopt developed technologies that will eventually boost production and income. We hope that more, mainly farmers and LGUs, will replicate the showcased technology,” Bajarla said.

Among those invited during the working visit were representatives from the local government units, the private sector, investors, and some officials and staff from national government agencies in the region, DA-10, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic Development Authority, and Department of Tourism, including the Agri department’s counterparts from Western Visayas, and the Special Projects Coordination and Management Assistance Division.

A ceremonial harvest is tentatively set next month to further continue promoting the smart greenhouse technology. (DA-10/PIA-10/Bukidnon)