BULACAN, Philippines – Business mogul Manny V. Pangilinan launched a new brand focused on making high-quality vegetables more accessible to businesses and households. It’s called “More Veggies Please” — also “MVP” for short. 

Metro Pacific Agro Ventures (MPAV) opened Metro Pacific Fresh Farms — said to be the biggest vegetable greenhouse facility in the country at 3.5 hectares — in San Rafael, Bulacan on Tuesday, March 25. The farm can yield 500 metric tons of fresh produce each year.

MPAV is already eyeing to expand the farm to reach 7 hectares and have 10 other satellite facilities across the country over the next five years. 

“We’ve seen the benefits in terms of production scale and also the quality, and if we are true to the purpose of really making, democratizing, and really giving this to the Filipino consumer, if we can expand to as many provinces as we can at the soonest possible time, then we will do so,” MPAV president and chief executive officer Jovy Hernandez told reporters on Tuesday. 

He added that demand has been robust — some supermarket customers have tapped them for a private tour of the greenhouse. MPAV aims to sell their produce direct to consumer and hopes to hit stores soon.

The Bulacan farm is capable of producing around 60,000 lettuce heads per month. Hernandez noted it can easily accommodate other commodities such as cherry tomatoes should there be a demand. 

Meanwhile, the farm’s nursery can accommodate 100,000 seeds at a time, with a full harvest expected every 27 days. 

The technology

MPV’s farm is a product of collaboration with Israeli agribusiness firm, LR Group. Its farm uses the nutrient film technique (NFT) for its leafy greens and the drip irrigation system for other vegetables.

The NFT allows lettuce varieties to grow on water instead of using soil.

“Just the water passes through the roots… you will see that the roots are all white kasi malinis talaga (because it’s really clean),” Hernandez said. “In the soil, there’s a lot of pathogens, lots of microorganisms pero ang importante sa (but what’s important in the) NFT is it delivers the right nutrients at the right quantities at the right time to each and every single lettuce head.”

“It’s the same with the drip irrigation system, which is targeting the root systems of the soil. The amount of nutrients and the amount of water that reaches the roots are exactly the same for each and everyone — that’s how we make it very consistent in terms of quality and nutritional value.”

These techniques allow their vegetables to get more nutrients compared with just watering them while placed in soil. It also allows the facilities to use 90% less water.

The six-greenhouse facility took about a year to build, with MPAV shelling out about P800 million. Expanding the Bulacan farm to double its size is expected to be cheaper as the infrastructure needed is in place.

Satellite farms

MPAV is hoping to build “at least” two more farms every year in the next five years. MPAV chief commercial officer Toby Gatchalian said they are eyeing to build a satellite farm by the end of 2025, which is expected to be opened in 2026.

Apart from selling produce direct to consumer, the farms are planned to also supply to businesses.

“We’re actually looking at different localities which have a concentration of hotels, restaurants, and resorts. We are in discussions already with several entities for beach estate locations but [that’s] not limited to just tourist spots,” Gatchalian said.

He added that they have recently been in touch with some private institutions and some local government units as well.

Apart from selling produce direct to consumer, the farms are planned to also supply to businesses. Businesses can work with MPAV to produce their needs based on their consumers’ demands. – Rappler.com