The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has provided a PHP100-million grant to finance the establishment of greenhouses for a farmers' group in the municipality of Patnongon, Antique.
Kalipunan ng mga Magsasaka sa Patnongon Agriculture Cooperative president Henry Michael Gonzalo Doliguez, in an interview on Tuesday, said the 10 greenhouses would serve as their demonstration site for high-value crops.
"The KOICA funding is already available, but for our counterpart, we need to prepare the one-hectare lot where the greenhouses will be established," he said.
He added that they are requesting the provincial government to assist them in the development of the one-hectare area owned by the cooperative in Barangay San Rafael so they could already start with the establishment of the greenhouses.
"The cooperative will be cultivating high-value crops such as lettuce, cabbage, and carrots in the greenhouses," he said.
With the greenhouses, they can also adopt new technologies in growing high-value crops to introduce to the 13,200 cooperative members.
He added that their project is in response to the sponsored resolution of Antique provincial board member Rony Molina during their regular session on January 30, requesting farmers to plant more high-value crops to help meet the local demand.
"Most of our cooperative members are into rice production, but if the Department of Agriculture could teach them the technology in producing high-value crops, they might be encouraged to shift in their production," Doliguez said.
Source: pna.gov.ph