The Modernized Agriculture Facility of Agusan del Sur yielded its first harvest of lettuce through ceremonial harvesting facilitated by the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) on August 3.

 

The High-Value Crop facility which costs P3 million is a project funded by the Department of Agriculture’s Plant Plant Plant Program under the  Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II) which provides COVID 19 response and recovery interventions to accelerate the revival of the economy and bolster the resiliency of the agriculture sector.

 

The Modernized Agriculture Facility features a Hydroponics System, Agriculture Greenhouse, and a Nursery with an Automated Fertigation System. This is among the productivity enhancement projects on Urban Agriculture under the DA’s High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP).

Agusan del Sur Governor Snatiago Cane (right in blue) together with DA-RTD Rebecca R. Atega (far left) shows off their harvested lettuce from the modern greenhouse in Patin-ay, Agusan del Sur.

Greenhouse farming is the use of technology for crops in framed or inflated structures covered with translucent or transparent materials that are large enough to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions. On the other hand, in a fertigation system, the fertilizers are already integrated with the irrigation system being used. Meanwhile, hydroponics is a system for growing plants without the use of soil, rather, nutrients are added to the water that the plants are immersed in.

 

The nursery in the facility has a capacity of 50,000 seedlings to support the drive of the Plant Plant Plant Program for every household to have their own vegetable garden. The LGU will initially provide the seedlings to the households to start their own backyard garden.

 

Provincial Agriculturist (PA) Armando Valiente shared that the facility serves as a show window of various modern agricultural technologies that can further develop agriculture in the province. “It aims to establish a resilient food system to ensure food availability and accessibility, promote urban agriculture, and provide an opportunity for farmers to generate income,” said Valiente.

 

Agusan del Sur Provincial Governor Santiago B. Cane also conveys his commitment to making sure of the sustainability of the project. “This project will help solve the problem of hunger and malnutrition and will be a big help to the people of Agusan del Sur,” he said.

Cane added that he will encourage all municipalities of the province to implement the same program in their areas to help ensure food availability.

 

On the other hand, DA – Caraga Regional Technical Director Rebecca R. Atega commended Agusan del Sur for being the first to harvest their planted crops despite being the last to start the establishment of the facility. She also assured Governor Cane of the Department’s continued support to the province. “The DA will continue to support the endeavors of the Local Government Units for the development of agriculture in the region,” she said.

 

Part of the initial plans of the PAO is to have a bench-marking at the area for interested farmers wherein they will be briefed about the technologies. PA Valiente said that the province also plans to conduct training to facilitate technology transfer through a season-long training as part of the Project’s component. (Vanessa P. Sanchez / DA13 – RAFIS)