UP to Build the Country’s First Smart Farm

UP is looking to revolutionize the future of PH agriculture by building the country’s first Smart Farm.

The project will be spearheaded by the UP Diliman Institute of Biology (IB), Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute (EEEI), and UP Los Baños Institute of Biology (IBS). The Smart Farm will be built at the DOST-ASTI Complex in Quezon City.

Funded by by the Innovation Council (DOST-PCIEERD), the P128-million Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE) program will aim to promote urban farming and high-tech plant conservation. Its objective is also to lead the research and development of a stand-alone urban farm system. The program is also tasked to establish protocols for micropropagation, cryopreservation, and nursery management of rare, endangered, and economically valuable native plant species.

“The core of this project is not only the development of new technology, but, on a macro perspective, to ensure that we can protect our country’s rich biodiversity,” according to DOST Undersecretary for R&D Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara.

Modern farming methods like vertical farming and hydroponics among others will be used to grow native plants in the facility. These plants will be grown in an environment where everything can be controlled and changed real-time including the climate, lighting, and the irrigation system.

National Scientist and UP Professor Emeritus, Dr. Edgardo Gomez, also commended the team for initiating the project and is positive that SPICE “will be a world-class institute.”

Part of the vision for the facility is to not only be able to show visitors the technologies being used in the facility, but also to sell fresh vegetables grown on-site, something that the public can look forward to once the Smart Farm is up and running.

via DOST