Month: February 2023

“I am proud that Israeli technologies and expertise are being introduced to the Philippines and will contribute to the country’s food security and agricultural productivity. This is just the beginning of Israel and the Philippines’s agri-adventure on agriventures,” Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss said. 

The agribusiness arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) in another partnership with Israel-based LR Group will be investing around P800 million to P1 billion in a vegetable greenhouse facility. The company announced its plan to build the largest vegetable greenhouse facility in the Philippines.

On Monday, February 20, MPIC and LR Group held a groundbreaking ceremony for Metro Pacific Fresh Farms (MPFF), which aims to produce over 1,200 metric tons of high-quality vegetables all year round. That said, the project would already compromise an entire value chain that includes seedlings production, vegetable cultivation, sorting, packaging and even marketing of the goods.

The 22-hectare facility will feature a complex of sustainable greenhouses using modern farming technologies, which would need 90% less water, 90% less land and 90% to 99% less fertilizers and pesticides. At the same time, these methods would also trim crop cycle time.

This investment into the sector was done alongside Innovative Agriculture Industry Ltd., an affiliate of an Israeli partner, LR Group. This is the second time that MPIC and LR Group collaborated up, as the first was under a dairy partnership. 

“By introducing advanced technology and best practices, productivity and quality are set to increase, resulting in better income and welfare for local residents,” President of IAI, Ilan Weiss said.

The move came as the country’s food security woes came into clear view as supply chain problem stoke a multi-year high inflation. The LR Group has been visible in the agriculture sector since 1985, having undertaken projects involving farming, greenhouse, poultry, and dairy. 

 “We share the same values with MPIC and MPAV in terms of maximizing what their country has to offer primarily in land, natural resources and skills, and in turn helping their local communities thrive,” LR Group co-founder and CEO Ami Lustig said.

Teaming up with Metro Pacific Dairy Farms (MCIP), using our modern technology in agriculture, we are able to launch dairy facility to boost Philippines dairy production.

This joint venture present a significant growth opportunity for MPIC and the Philippines, as the country currently imports 99 percent of its annual dairy requirements. Our aim is to build a world class and modernized increase in the country’s fresh quality milk production and to reduce the amount of imports of the Philippines milk supply targeting to meet 20 percent of the country’s daily demand.

Laguna is expected to produce 6.5 million liters of fresh milk a year. There will be an initial capacity of up to 2,000 cows where, therefore, it will have an initial of 1,000 cows, which will undergo regular health monitoring to ensure quality milk.

The farm facility will also have highly mechanized and automated operations to maximize fresh milk’s shelf life, which will ensure adherence to quality and safety standards. It will also be equipped with solar farms that will produce power for the dairy facility, a water treatment plant that will provide human-grade drinking water for the cattle, and a waste management facility that will allow the facility to produce fertilizer.
Apart from locally produced fresh milk, there will also have processing plant capabilities to produce other milk-derivative products such as low-fat milk, chocolate milk, yogurt and other popular dairy products for the local market.

The 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.

Apart from ramping up the Philippine dairy industry, MPDF also plans to solidify a relationship with local corn farmers for the cattle feed rations. It also aims to be a future training facility for future farmers and experts in agriculture, in partnership with academic entities.

“Our investment in agriculture is synonymous to food security and substantial independence, but will ultimately become a means of alleviating hunger in our country – a pressing issue that we have taken as a challenge to address,” MPIC chairman, president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

MPIC earlier said it was ramping up investments in the agriculture sector to help reduce the country’s dependence on food imports amid ongoing global supply chain disruptions and high inflation.

The LR Group is honored to form a joint venture with Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), which is one of Guyana’s leading companies. The project is for the development of a dairy farm for 500-milking cow’s and the transfer of modern Israeli agro-technologies. This venture is intended to strengthen high quality dairy production in Guyana while reducing reliance on imports and contributing to the revitalization and modernization of Guyana’s agriculture sector. The annual milk production will increase yearly, due to proper culling.

We are excited at the launch of this project, which LR Group regards as the first step towards broader cooperation with Guyana, in the areas of commercial agriculture, water supply, renewable energy, healthcare and more.