On February 23-24, 2022, about 70 attend the Training on Sustainable Smart Agriculture using Appropriate Technology for Strawberry and Tomato in Region 10, which forms part of the capacity enhancement component of the P70.2-million worth of smart greenhouse project at NMACLRC, Dalwangan, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. (Photo credits: LTM/JVB)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – About 70 participants, comprising of farmer-members from different farmers cooperatives, associations (FCAs) and agri-extensionists from Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental, including technical staff from the Department of Agriculture – Northern Mindanao (DA-10), are eyed to help escalate local production of high value crops using smart greenhouse technology.
This, after they have completed a Training on Sustainable Smart Agriculture using Appropriate Technology for Strawberry and Tomato in Region 10 on February 23-24, 2022 at the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and Livestock Research Complex (NMACLRC) in Dalwangan, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
One of DA-10’s research stations, NMACLRC also serves as the hub for the collaborative project between the South Korean and Philippine governments dubbed as the ‘Establishment of Smart Greenhouse and Capacity Building in the Philippines’.
Said joint project amounting to P70.2 million was realized primarily from the pooled funds of the South Korean government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs thru the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Services in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and DA-10 under the leadership of Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado.
DA-NorMin Regional Technical Director for Operations, Carlota S. Madriaga shared, that the staged capabuild marks the first ever to be conducted, following the completion in the installation of 11 units smart greenhouse along with automation systems on complex environment control, farming management, growth and development information and management.
The short-termed training course covered a briefer on the smart greenhouse project, with lectures focusing on strawberry and tomato cultivation technologies using smart farm, which were discussed by commissioned Korean experts: Park Jongdae and Lee Joungmo, respectively.
Participants also underwent a virtual tour in strawberry and cherry tomato farms in Pyeongtaek City, South Korea, while also physically visiting the smart greenhouse site for a hands-on training for cited commodities.
“As part of the Project’s capacity building component, they [training-participants] are expected to have acquired basic knowledge of smart farm technologies, crop cultivation, and business performance, at the same time, gain understanding in smart farm management,” the agri official said.
Not only will the smart greenhouse project be a learning site for Korean technologies on strawberry and cherry tomato, but also including potato and pepper, RTD Madriaga also pinned her hopes that it will pave way to spark the interest of the youth to engage in farming with the Project’s state-of-the-art operations.
“Our Korean-partners have particularly developed a smart greenhouse operating system for crop growth information management based on Web and Mobile platforms thru the establishment of data systems such as greenhouse environment data management, greenhouse automated operation, and product sales management.”
Qualified farmer-participants for the pioneering batch of trainees are those small and mid-income high valued crop producer-members of DA-accredited FCAs from Talakag, Lantapan, Impasugong and Malaybalay City, who are in proximity to the project site, and who also have the capacity to adopt the greenhouse type of production. # (JLO)