METRO PACIFIC Agro Ventures (MPAV), a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), opened a 3.5-hectare vegetable greenhouse complex on Tuesday in San Rafael, Bulacan.

Metro Pacific Fresh Farms (MPFF) is planned for eventual expansion to seven hectares, MPAV CEO and President Jovy I. Hernandez told reporters.

The first phase of MPFF, consisting of six greenhouses, promises yields equivalent to five times those of traditional farms, promising up to 500 metric tons of fresh vegetables annually.

The farm can produce around 60,000 heads of lettuce each month.

Aside from leafy vegetables, the greenhouses also produce melons and tomatoes, among others, which will be sold under the brand name More Veggies Please.

“The vision behind these investments is an agriculturally independent Philippines,” MPIC Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

“We want to help build a nation that’s capable of feeding all of its people.”

The greenhouse is equipped with technology developed by the LR Group, an Israeli agribusiness company.

The technology includes a nutrient film technique for leafy greens and drip irrigation systems for other types of vegetable, enabling efficient growing with less resources than in conventional agriculture. 

This allows vegetables to be grown using 90% less water and land, it said.

The greenhouses are designed to withstand typhoons as strong as Signal No. 4 in the Philippine storm warning classification, indicating winds exceeding 185 kph.

The MPFF facilities require less chemical pesticides and fertilizer, cutting exposure to contaminants by 90-99%.

Mr. Hernandez said MPFF removes middlemen from the value chain, with the produce — harvested every 27 days — directly delivered to its clients such as hypermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and food processors right after packaging.

Businesses can partner with MPFF in customizing their supply based on demand trends and customer preferences.

The company seeks to put up 10 satellite sites across the country in 10 years, according to Mr. Hernandez.

The Board of Investments granted the vegetable farm project green lane status in 2023 in recognition of its status as a strategic investment. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

ISRAELI companies are working on poultry and cacao projects in the Philippines, Israel’s ambassador to Manila Ilan Fluss told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a greenhouse launch in Bulacan province.

He said Israeli companies are also exploring investments in healthcare, software, and telecommunications.

Israeli investors need to branch out overseas because of the small domestic market, Mr. Fluss said.

“The mindset of an Israeli businessman is international because the domestic market is not so big,” he said. “So, we always look at the international market when we need to grow,” he added.

“Israeli companies realize that the Philippines is a major market, and it’s a country where there are so many opportunities,” he added.

Mr. Fluss said one of the major challenges for Israeli companies seeking to do business in the Philippines is identifying a “solid” partner.

Seven Israeli business delegations visited the Philippines in 2024, representing the agriculture, water, cosmetics, and wine industries, as well as companies specializing in cybersecurity and disaster preparedness, he noted.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in 2023 told President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. that the Philippines and Israel can collaborate in water management, given Israel’s expertise.

“We would like to do more sharing of best practices (via) government-to-government (negotiations),” Mr. Fluss said.

The two countries’ bilateral trade hit $532 million in 2023, against $534 million a year earlier.

Israeli exports to the Philippines in 2023 were valued at $349 million and included integrated circuits, vessels, and armored vehicles.

MASUNGI GEORESERVE operator Blue Star Construction & Development Corp. urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Tuesday to reconsider its eviction order and resolve matters via dialogue, asserting that its 2002 contract with the government complies with procurement law.

In a statement, Blue Star added that it is not responsible for failing to build 5,000 housing units, citing an unresolved squatter problem.

“To date, the contractual project timeline has not commenced due to the DENR’s inability to clear the site of illegal occupants and claimants,” it said.

The DENR on March 7 canceled its 2002 supplemental agreement with Blue Star, citing the company’s alleged failure to execute the housing project and calling the deal illegal. It also ordered the company to vacate its 300-hectare site within the georeserve.

Blue Star said it formally received the notice of cancellation and eviction on March 17.

Blue Star said the 2002 contract explicitly states that the project will begin 15 days from DENR’s delivery of land free from encumbrances and adverse claims, “conditions essential for peaceful, safe and lawful project implementation.”

“These safeguards were specifically designed to prevent the setbacks encountered in the previous, similarly encumbered site.”

Blue Star signed a joint venture agreement with the DENR in 1997 for the survey, design construction, development and marketing of a project called “Garden Cottages” on a 130-hectare government property in Tanay, Rizal, according to a DENR statement.

The DENR said Blue Star obtained a supplemental agreement in 2002 that increased its project area by an additional 300 hectares “despite no substantial housing units built on the original 130 hectares awarded.”

Blue Star reiterated that its Supplemental Joint Venture Agreement with the DENR in 2002 adhered to applicable government procurement laws. 

“Public bidding is not required for repeat orders or supplemental agreements within the original contract cost, as provided under Presidential Decree 1594, which governed procurement rules at the time,” it said.

“The reference to an expansion area of 300 hectares — compared to the original 130 hectares — is largely due to the presence of unbuildable karst terrain,” it added. “The contract value, not the land area, is the relevant benchmark.”

DENR Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Norlito Eneran has said the 2002 supplemental agreement is “now without basis” since the original joint venture agreement for the housing project was “never executed, and no bidding process occurred despite the five-year timeline.”

Blue Star said the 2002 deal is valid and enforceable, and “does not require the prior issuance of a Presidential Proclamation alienating Lot 10 at the time of contract execution.”

“The agreement reflects DENR’s express undertaking to enable such alienation. Any absence of such proclamation is not attributable to Blue Star but rather falls under the DENR’s purview,” the company said.

In 2008, Blue Star negotiated to exchange the unbuilt 5,000 housing units in the 130-hectare project site for only 145 housing units in a 1.5-hectare site in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

The Masungi Georeserve Foundation recently said the eviction order threatens not only years of forest restoration, wildlife protection, and geotourism but also the livelihoods of up to 100 rangers and their families. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza