Five greenhouses will soon rise in Bago City, Negros Occidental under the Smart Agriculture Project funded by the government of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

To be established on the city government’s one-hectare property in Barangay Napoles, the PHP61-million Village-Level Enterprise for Value Chain Enhancement of High-Value Crops through Smart Agriculture (VEHCSA) is poised to significantly enhance agricultural infrastructure, improve post-harvest facilities and create greater market opportunities for Bagonhon farmers.

City Agriculturist Marvin John Blance on Wednesday said the construction is set to start between June and July and is expected to be completed by January next year.

“We hope to see it finished by 2027 and then launch the project,” he added.

The smart greenhouse facility will grow high-value crops such as cherry tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, bell pepper and honeydew melon.

For one year, KOICA will provide subsidies for inputs like seeds, fertilizers and smart farming technologies.

Once completed, KOICA will turn over the project to the city government, which will manage the operation of the greenhouse complex, with two farmer associations serving as the city’s marketing partners.

On May 29, the team of KOICA Philippines Assistant Country Director Eunhye Pyun met with Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao, who expressed optimism on the benefits the project will bring to local farmers and in strengthening the city’s agriculture sector.

“We are adopting and introducing an agricultural greenhouse system through this project, and we are planning to produce high-value crops to increase the income of farmers,” Pyun said. “We are trying to enhance their capacity in agriculture as well as skills and techniques.”

After the meeting, Pyun turned over a unit of a refrigerated van to Javellana-Yao that can be used by the city government to strengthen support for agricultural development, post-harvest management, and value chain enhancement.

KOICA is partnering with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the implementation of the VEHCSA projects in Panay and Negros.

In Bacolod City, the KOICA officials also met with DA-NIR Regional Executive Director Jose Albert Barrogo to discuss the developments on the VEHCSA project in Bago City.

Last January, South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a similar smart greenhouse complex in Kalibo, Aklan. (PNA)