MPAV, LR Group putting up Philippine’s biggest vegetable greenhouse

SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan, Philippines — Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV), the wholly owned agriculture unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), is putting up the country’s biggest vegetable greenhouse facility here under its second venture with Israeli firm LR Group Ltd. with a P1-billion investment.

MPAV and LR Group have established Metro Pacific Fresh Farms (MPFF), which broke ground yesterday.

Sitting on a 22-hectare property, MPFF will be the biggest modern vegetable greenhouse facility in the country, with the ability to produce high-quality vegetables all year round.

The partners will be investing “close to P1 billion” to put up the project, MPAV president and CEO Jovy Hernandez said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Completion of the complex of modern greenhouses will take about 12 months, he said.

With the Innovative Agriculture (Agro) Industry Ltd. (IAI), an affiliate of LR Group, MPFF comprises a full value chain, including seedlings production, vegetable cultivation, sorting, packaging and marketing.

“The vision behind these investments is an agriculturally independent Philippines. We want to help build a nation that’s capable of feeding all of its people,” MPIC chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

MPFF’s modern greenhouses aim to champion sustainability through the reduction of water and land usage alongside controlled farming conditions, which will shorten crop cycles and will make better-quality vegetables more accessible and available in the country year-round.

It will use modern farming techniques such as nutrient film technique hydroponics and the drip irrigation system, which will lessen water and land usage by 90 percent, and bring down the use of fertilizers and pesticides by 90 to 99 percent.

Once completed and operational, the MPFF is estimated to produce 1.6 million tons of vegetables through these modern farming methods, Hernandez said.

He said produce from the MPFF would cater to the vegetable needs of Metro Manila.

“The vegetable market in Metro Manila alone is so big. Even this facility will only be able to cater to a small one. What’s important is this is the start, and we need more of these in the future,” Hernandez said.

“We’ll make sure the prices are affordable and make sure we’re able to increase the supply of vegetables especially for Metro Manila,” Pangilinan said.

MPFF also aims to open a multitude of opportunities in the agricultural sector, especially for local farmers.

The project aims to promote training, advanced farming techniques and employment opportunities for surrounding communities.

“Part of the objective is to teach the local farmers how to do it themselves,” Hernandez said.

MPAV CCO Toby Gatchalian said the greenhouse project is only the first step in building a platform for a much larger advocacy as MPFF is part of a larger ecosystem that is set to fundamentally change how all Filipinos eat.

In 2019, the Asian average for vegetable consumption per capita was 182.72 kilograms, but the Philippines lagged far behind with a mere 63.41 kg consumed per capita.

The trend for vegetable consumption in the Philippines remains flat, in contrast to our neighbors whose vegetable consumption increases annually.

“We view this shift as a multi-sectoral movement that involves not just the private sector, but the public sector, as well as the academe so we could continue to innovate and discover novel solutions,” he said.

Prior to MPFF, MPAV and the LR Group have teamed up for Metro Pacific Dairy Farms (MPDF) to invest P2 billion for a farm facility in Bay, Laguna which can produce 6.5 million liters of milk annually.

Construction of the facility will start in 2023 and take approximately two years to finish, while commercial operation is projected to commence by late 2025 to early 2026.

The MPDF project expands MPAV’s existing dairy business, The Laguna Creamery Inc., of which MPIC bought 51 percent from Carmen’s Best Group for P198 million in June last year.

Last month, MPAV also forayed into the coconut industry with a P5.32-billion investment to take in a 34.76-percent ownership in Axelum Resources Corp. (ARC) as part of its agriculture push.

A leading manufacturer and exporter globally of high-quality coconut products, ARC is one of the major suppliers of Vita Coco, the global market leader in coconut water, and is a major exporter of desiccated coconut, coconut milk/cream, coconut cooking oil, and other coconut products.