The provincial government of Catanduanes and the Department of Agriculture in Bicol (DA-5) are working on modernizing the local agricultural industry by establishing two new facilities that will easily provide seedlings to farmers.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Catanduanes Provincial Agriculturist Ace William Tria said that a grow-out nursery and a greenhouse with a hydroponics system are being constructed in the capitol grounds under the DA-5 National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program.

He said the provincial government provided land for the two facilities and budget for the operation and maintenance.

“By next month, it will be operational. We will have readily available seedlings for our local farmers and it will help in promoting urban gardening,” he noted.

Tria said that the nursery will serve as a source of seedlings and saplings that can be distributed to schools, local farmers and residents for projects like “Gulayan sa Barangay” (village vegetable farming), which will contribute to food sufficiency.

He said the project is under a 15-year agreement with DA-Bicol to boost local agricultural outputs.

The nursery has a project cost of almost PHP600,000 and can house 30 units of grow-out tables and 104 cells of seedling trays.

The greenhouse with a hydroponics system has a project cost of PHP988,000 and includes 1,200 pieces of hydroponics cups and foam/media, 240 meters of hydroponics channel and nutrient solution.

“This will be a big help, especially to our local farmers. This infrastructure will enable local farmers to produce crops year-round in greenhouses,” Tria said. (PNA)