Young farmer from Buguias earns PHP54,000.00 a month planting cucumbers in greenhouse

Cordillera - Integrating technology, innovation and of course hard work can produce incredible results to the earnings of farmers.

A young farmer from Benguet is earning around Php54,000.00 a month planting cucumbers in a greenhouse. 

Sergio Capsuyan, 29, a farmer from Abatan, Buguias is reaping the benefits of the knowledge he had learned in Japan. 

He was one among the youth members of the Buguias-Japan Agricultural Trainees Association (BJATA). He is also one of the Board of Directors in the said association. 

The association was organized for the members and trainees who acquired the Japanese agricultural and technological skills to apply them in their local farms in Abatan. 

Capsuyan said that he can earn an income of Php54,000.00 in one month or one cycle of weekly harvest by planting at least 8 beds of cucumber. He attributed his bountiful harvest from using a greenhouse  given to him by the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) High-Value Commercial Crops Development Program. 

He said that it is very productive to grow crops in a greenhouse because he can control and maximize his irrigation including his production inputs. 

Capsuyan also shares how he mitigate insect pests in his crops by applying a method called fertigation. This is by fermenting a sack of chicken dung and 4 liters of Mukosako in a drum of water. This will become a liquid fertilizer that helps in the growth of plants and acts as a repellant to insect pests.

Mukosako is a wood vinegar condensed from a chimney attached to a fire chamber where wood and other combustible materials are burned. 

Fertigation is indeed a very good natural combo of fertilizing the soil and controlling pests not to mention the splendid production volume and quality wise. The raw materials used are organic, inexpensive and harmless to both humans and the environment.

Capsuyan also grows vegetables in the open field but he said that in terms of quality and productivity, greenhouse farming is the best.

Capsuyan was very appreciative to the help extended to him by the BJATA, the DA-CAR and other DA agencies that promote new technologies, new vegetable crops, crop programming and market development to young farmers like himself. 

Very soon, Mr. Capsuyan will receive a certificate as a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) practitioner from the DA. 

source || Robert Domoguen Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/robert.domoguen/posts/2829156093762948

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Department of Agriculture launches 'state-of-the-art' greenhouse in Baguio city

Photo Courtesy || Manny Pinol

Cordillera - Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol led the launching ceremony of the nine 'smart greenhouses' on Friday at the Bureau of Plant Industry located in Baguio City.

The 3,450 square meters 'state of the art' greenhouse have been set up for the training of farmers to enable them to learn how to manage a modern greenhouse facility. 

The PHP122 million worth smart greenhouse facility is a pilot project of the DA and funded by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). 

It aims to train Cordillera farmers in the production of high value-added agricultural products like cherry tomatoes and strawberries  among others. 

DA Sec Piñol said this would be part of department goal modernizing the Philippine Agriculture industry by pursuing modern farming method that is fully automated and state-of-the-art. 

The smart greenhouse is fully automated and some features like temperature and water control can be operated using a mobile phone. The greenhouse is also solar-powered. 

The Korean built greenhouses can produce a ton of red and yellow cherry tomatoes also known as grape tomatoes every week based on current computation and output, according to Mr. Jesus Aspuria, Center Chief of BPI-Baguio.

Photo Courtesy || Manny Pinol

Piñol said there is a demand of farm products from our country by the international markets like countries in eastern Europe. 

"They are hungry with farm products from our country. They would like to discover what the Philippines has to offer," he said. 

According to Piñol, the success of the smart greenhouse will be replicated in all regions of the country to help other farmers learn this modern technology so that they can produce high quality products for the country and for export as well.

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