This farmer’s son keeps dreaming of millions of Filipino farmers rising from their poverty and staying up there, mostly on OneDA partnerships, partly via their own initiative, and with our little encouragements.
So, the news that Charissa Luci-Atienza shares, “DOST, UP Harvest Vegetables From PH’s First ‘Smart Farm'[1]” (11 July 2021, Manila Bulletin) I have read and re-read, in terms of its potentials for our small farmers.
Green leafy vegetables have been harvested from the Philippines’ first “smart farm,” as according to Secretary of Science Fortunato T de la Peña, from the P128-million Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE) Laboratory at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City, on Tuesday, 06 July 2021.
The high total cost is because everything is controlled, all high tech. Mr De La Peña said, “The project has also developed a centralized control system for its farm operations complete with technical documentation of its system design, installation manual, and farm operations.” Not only that. Mr De La Peña said, “Prediction models were also developed to ascertain the plant growth and optimum harvesting of the produce.”
Sounds expensive! I am Ilocano, so I must look for the inexpensive. And I’m in luck as the news from Madelaine B Miraflor says (12 July 2021, “PH Farmers Seek Affordable Technologies[2],” Manila Bulletin, MB.com.ph):
Farmer-leaders from the Philippines joined (those from) other countries in an international dialogue where they urged countries to transform food systems by giving farmers access to affordable and sustainable technologies.
This was during a virtual dialogue on “Transforming Pathways: Working With Farmers In The Agri-Food Systems” jointly convened by the Philippine-based Southeast Asian Regional Center on Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Singapore-based CropLife Asia (CLA). More than 30 farmer-leaders from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam took part in the 3-hour virtual dialogue. The dialogue was a lead-up to the UN Food Systems Summit this September:
It was discussed that in the process of transforming food systems, smallholder farmers need access to appropriate, affordable, profit-enhancing technologies, and crop systems that are sustainable and do not cause ecological degradation or (adverse) social conditions.
Glenn B Gregorio, SEARCA Director said, “Let us understand where our farmers are in terms of policy, technology, and industry development and of course, their integrated phases to have more action points and effective strategies in programs that benefit them the most.”
Siang Hee Tan, CLA Executive Director said, “We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure that our (poor) farmers are enabled and empowered to meet the challenges of a growing world.”
Finally, I go back to DoST’s Smart Farm, which belongs in the city, where vacant lots are expensive but otherwise unused rooftops and vertical walls can provide spaces for the growing of crops for food.
Above, the Smart Farm in the SPICE Lab in UP Diliman is actually a high-tech setup to generate model farms, plural, for different vegetable setups. Right now, I can only imagine how that will help cultivate affordable gardening in the city.@517
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