In a bid to increase vegetable production, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has provided Benguet farmers with P1.5 million worth of vegetable greenhouses.

In a statement, the agency said 12,191 members of Taloy Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (TAFARMCO) based in Taloy Sur, Tuba, Benguet will benefit from the greenhouses.

The TAFARMCO received two 200-square meters each twin butterfly-type greenhouses with solar-powered drip irrigation and fertigation system which includes a battery, water pump, water tank, drip hose, solar-powered street lights, seedlings, and seedling trays, according to DAR Cordillera Regional Director Samuel Solomero.

As such, the agency provided the cooperative with atraining fund of P70,000, training kits, and assorted farm input supports worth P125,000.

As the cooperative would manage and maintain the project, Solmero stated that farmer members of TAFARMCO would profit from the greenhouses through dividends or interest on their share capital.

Lailani A. Cortez, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, said “members of the cooperative can increase crop production because vegetable greenhouses have ideal climate conditions needed for plant growth than growing crops in an open field," she said.

Angel Garcia, who heads TAFARMCO, expressed gratitude to the DAR for the greenhouses given by the agency.