Tech touted as solution to ageing-farmer crisis, but farms can't thrive without reforms

DENNIS IVAN CHAVEZ, a 25-year-old computer engineering graduate from Mindanao State University's Iligan Institute of Technology, didn't know he would one day co-found Fresco-Greenovations, an agriculture-based startup that provides automation services for farms and gardens.

- By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

"I come from a family of Igorot farmers and traders, but as time went on, they slowly moved away from farming and pursued other careers," he told Business World.

When the pandemic hit, the online gaming and tech enthusiast had a chance to try other things that he said weren't taught in his university subjects, one of which was hydroponics.

"The harvest gave me a lot of dopamine. I turned to my high school classmates who took up agriculture and got them onboard We supplied a few food businesses and households," he said.

FrescoGreenovations in January registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, over two years after it was chosen to be part of a Department of Agriculture (DA) program for aspiring farmers.

"We pivoted to becoming an agritech startup after we received the funds. It was a rollercoaster of events after that, a lot of ups and downs," according to Mr. Chavez, who was 21 years old when he and his teammates received a grant of P100,000 from the government.

The startup, now run by seven people including licensed agriculturists and computer engineers, is currently working with a private school that seeks to build a campus-based greenhouse farm equipped with sensors, actuators, and other farm management systems.

"The growing global interest in farming, with its related impact on food security, climate change, population growth, and technological innovation, shifts the concept from traditional labor-intensive practices to agritech entrepreneurship," Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum told Business World.

"This gives young Filipinos the opportunity to engage in farming innovations, build startups, and earn more competitively," he said, noting that artificial intelligence (AI)-driven decision tools, drones, sensors, and satellite data are helping attract young people to farming.

"Even during the pandemic, there was explosive interest in urban and vertical farming," he said.