Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday highlighted the long-term benefits of the USD8 million worth of investment in smart greenhouses in Aklan.<\/p>\n
The project was formally launched by the DA, in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), at the Aklan Agri-Aqua Demo Farm and Training Center in Barangay Nalook, Kalibo town on Jan. 23.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the agriculture chief said the flagship project under the Value Chain Enhancement of High-Value Crops through Smart Agriculture (VEHCSA) seeks to provide a long-term impact on the lives of Filipino farmers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project is an investment in our farmers\u2019 future \u2014 improving productivity, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods,\u201d Tiu Laurel said.<\/p>\n
The VEHCSA Project seeks to boost the efficiency of the production system for vegetables and high-value crops, such as cherry tomato, lettuce, honeydew melon, cucumber, bell pepper, herbs, chives, and sesame leaf. using smart farming technologies.<\/p>\n
Tiu Laurel said the VEHCSA project will create more opportunities in rural communities, strengthen the high-value crops sector, and ensure lasting benefits through strong collaboration with local governments, farmers\u2019 organizations, and development partners.<\/p>\n
The DA plans to establish similar smart facilities in Antique, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.<\/p>\n
For his part, South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa said the greenhouse facility will help to further improve the agricultural landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are breaking ground not just on infrastructure, but on a shared vision \u2014 a resilient and inclusive agricultural future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aklan Governor Jose Enrique Miraflores thanked the DA for choosing the province as the first implementer of the project in Western Visayas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will strengthen food security, support Boracay\u2019s tourism demand, and provide lasting benefits for local farmers and communities,\u201d he said, as he pledged continued provincial support for the project.<\/p>\n
During the event, the DA also turned over a refrigerated van to project beneficiaries, supporting post-harvest handling and cold chain systems to preserve crop quality and reduce losses.<\/p>\n
DA Western Visayas Regional Executive Director Dennis Arpia thanked KOICA and the Korean government, sayig the partnership strengthens agricultural value chains, improves productivity, and benefits farmers, cooperatives, and local stakeholders. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Smart greenhouse facilities are seen as key to improving crop yields.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":{"nxtgen_comments":[{"1572":"hope farmers see real income increase soon.\r","1573":"sana mas marami pang ganitong investments.\r","1574":"western visayas has big potential in high-value crops \ud83c\udf3f\r"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}