Around 500 Families In Navotas City To Benefit From Vertical Farm Towers

Around 500 families are set to benefit from vertical farm towers put up by  a unit of Delgado Brothers (Delbros) Group in Navotas City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vertical farming is the practice of growing and producing crops in tall buildings in urban areas to increase food supply without using more land.  The immediate surrounding communities are the beneficiaries of the project in Navotas.

In October last year,  Good Greens & Co. (GGC) launched an urban farm with four towers in a 300-square meter lot in the city. It was built in partnership with the local government of Navotas and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP).

This  year, GGC announced that project in Navotas was expanded to give people sufficient and sustainable food source amid restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement on Aug. 6, GGC said it turned over eight more towers in the city.

“Operationally, we have signed an agreement to run the farm going forward, and to train identified groups within the community as well,” GGC president Simon Villalon told The Philippine STAR / OneNews.PH in an e-mail interview.

As restrictions are still placed on food transportation due to COVID-19, the vertical farm towers that now occupy a 700 square-meter property will hopefully provide for the needs of the community.

Villalon said the idea for the farm towers in Navotas was first discussed in April 2020. GGC had the site identified and did the groundbreaking for the first phase in May.

Solution to agricultural challenges

According to Villalon, the initiative is a feasible solution to address existing agricultural challenges such as farm fatigue, pesticide runoff  and greenhouse gas emissions.

The project, which is considered to be the tallest vertical farm in Metro Manila, will yield higher production of crops as these will not be affected by unfavorable weather conditions being grown indoors.

Some of crops they grow in the towers are pechay (Chinese cabbage) lettuce, spinach and kale. The company noted that they are also planning to produce eggplants, tomatoes and herbs in their nursery.

“This is just the beginning – in our experiments and research we have tested cucumbers, peppers, strawberries and other leafy greens,” Villalon said.

The Delbros’ vertical farming arm also said this project will provide a more efficient way of producing crops because it will need less land compared to traditional farming.

Employment opportunities, cleaner air

It further noted that vertical farming can create additional jobs for the nearby communities as it will open a possible career in the field of plant health, horticulture, food safety, integrated pest management, production, packing, facilities and maintenance.

Added benefits from these farm towers, GGC said, include health security as the food crops will be grown in computer-monitored sanitary buildings offering little risk of contamination by bacteria such as E.coli – a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines.

These towers will also produce much cleaner air for the community as these can absorb carbon dioxide and contaminants in the air, according to GGC.

Sustainable, profitable

Seeing the increase in demand for healthy, affordable and accessible produce, Villalon emphasized that the farm towers are sustainable and profitable as “planting crops can be done in a controllable environment.”

He said even in densely populated areas like Navotas, the vertical farm “model makes sense as it does not need a large land footprint to produce large harvests.”

The technology solution, according to Villalon, is also designed to support a more consistent cycle of harvests by minimizing the effects of unfavorable weather conditions.

GGC aims to bring farm fresh, high-quality produce into urban communities given the rising prices of vegetables and the importance of being able to put food on the table in Filipino homes. Through hydroponic and aeroponic farming, they build vertical farms directly in the communities that need it the most.

Hydroponic and aeroponic farming is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.

Funding

Funding for the first four towers in the city came from the GGC and the BSP while the budget for the expansion project was made possible through Republic Act No. 11494 – the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 – under the guidelines set by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

On Dec. 11, 2020, the DA issued Memorandum Circular No. 42 or the implementing guidelines for urban agriculture program under Bayanihan 2.

The company aims to produce farm towers that will yield an initial of 4,000 to 10,000 plants.

Aside from Navotas, vertical farms have already been tested and built in Taguig City; San Fernando, Pampanga; Bacolod City; and Paranaque City.

“We continue our plans to replicate our unique vertical farming design elsewhere in Metro Manila and across the Philippines,” Villalon said.

The Delbros Group is a pioneer in the logistics industry. It consists of over 20 subsidiaries and member companies both locally and internationally, with thrusts in three main industries: logistics, transportation, technology and food production.