ILOILO – Ilonggo farmers will start adopting “smart farming technologies” shared by South Korea aimed at enabling them to sustainably produce quality vegetables year-round.
This will be realized soon as the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched smart greenhouse projects in Iloilo, funded through the Republic of Korea’s official development assistance, worth 3.15 billion Korean Won ($2.7 million or roughly P135 million).
The grant will be funded by Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries up to 2024.
It will showcase modern sustainable vegetable technologies and thus encourage farmers in Western Visayas to produce and earn more, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
“For Western Visayas – particularly at the DA’s Integrated Agricultural Research Center or WESVIARC in Iloilo City – an additional 10 smart greenhouses will be put up and train farmers on modern production of mushrooms and cherry tomatoes,” he added.
As part of the project, the Korean government will also dispatch experts and farm consultants to train Filipino farmers, researchers and supervising officers./PN
