LR’s second Joint venture with MPIC – Building the Philippines’ largest vegetable greenhouse facility

“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.