Metro Pacific Investments Corp., the country’s leading infrastructure investments company, on Monday launched a 22-hectare modern greenhouse project in San Rafael, Bulacan—the largest facility in the country that will produce high quality vegetable all year round.
The project comes at a time that the Philippines imports many of its food requirements, from rice to onions.
Officials said the facility requires MPIC to spend close to P1 billion as capital expenditure to bring the enterprise to full fruition.
“The vision behind these investments is an agriculturally independent Philippines,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Metro Pacific, in a statement. “We want to help build a nation that’s capable of feeding all of its people,” he added.
Called The Vegetable Greenhouse Project, it is being undertaken by Metro Pacific through its unit Metro Pacific Agro Ventures in partnership with Innovative Agricultural Industry Ltd., an affiliate of its Israeli-based partner LR Group. The agricultural complex will include seedlings production, vegetable cultivation, sorting, packaging and marketing, and will tap subsistence farmers to improve their lives.
This is the second project of MPAV and the LR Group after a dairy partnership in December. It is part of Metro Pacific’s broader vision of becoming a serious player in the field of agriculture.
With long term sustainability in mind, these modern greenhouses will be using less water, less land, and with controlled farming conditions, crop cycles are shorter and can be done year-round.
“Growing our own produce is a step in developing our country’s capability in terms of food sustainability,” said Jovy Hernandez, MPAV president and CEO. “Partnering with IAI and the LR Group, moves us towards a future where ideally, food security is the norm, not just an aspiration. This is part of MPAV’s Fresh Forward Movement,” he added.
