The demand for cut flowers and plants is expected to grow by 80 percent until 2027 across Asia, according to a report by international food and agribusiness bank Rabobank.
In the Philippines, the demand for ornamental plants is rising at a “fast rate”, driven by the population’s increasing purchasing power and the working population, who are mostly millennials, choosing to acquire more condominium units, as reported by the International Association of Horticultural Producers. The landscaping industry is also growing, following the development of urban areas in the country.
With the goal of addressing the growing demand for vegetable seedlings and ornamental plants, Farm-Ready GG Seedling Corp., the first and largest professional seedling nursery in the Philippines, inaugurated a new 3,400-square-meter top vent greenhouse and three 1,152-square-meter greenhouses in its main office in Capihan, San Rafael, Bulacan on May 5, 2022.
This brings the total greenhouse space of Farm-Ready to 14,152 square meters.
Farm-Ready, a joint venture of multinational vegetable seed company East-West Seed Philippines Inc. and Plantise BV, is the first and largest professional seedling nursery in the country. The company was established in 2008 to help improve horticultural practices by offering year-round availability of safe, healthy, and quality vegetable and ornamental plants.
The new ornamental greenhouses have a capacity to produce around 60,000 flowers per year and are expected to boost Farm-Ready’s ornamentals production by 50 percent. The ornamental plants that will be grown in the production area include gerberas, dianthus, vincas, petunias, sunflowers, marigolds, and herbs.
“The ornamentals industry here in the Philippines is flourishing. In recent years, we have seen growing demand, especially during the pandemic, when more people became interested in growing plants at home. The government’s strong support in promoting agrotourism has also encouraged many farm owners to convert their farms into agrotourism sites, and most of them are looking for ornamentals plants to beautify their farms and attract visitors,” said Ricardo Reyes, business unit manager of Farm-Ready.
He said Farm-Ready is encouraging farmers to grow ornamental plants together with vegetables. Ornamentals can provide an additional income source and some ornamentals like marigolds are proven to repel common vegetable pests, thus potentially reducing farmers’ expenses on pesticides.
“This expansion is part of our mission to bring innovative products and services that can improve the livelihood of farmers and promote sustainable farming practices,” said Reyes.
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