Enthusiasts hunger for agri know-how
It is amazing how farming and gardening enthusiasts are braving inclement weather just to attend the Agribiz Kapihan forum at the Harbest Events Center at the Rizal Techno Park in Taytay town. Last Saturday, July 21, more than 150 men and women (one bringing her year-old baby) braved the heavy rains and flooded roads just to attend the lecture of Engr. Wilson Testa on growing vegetables the hydroponics way.
A nun from San Jose del Monte City, Sister Ching Japin, started her trip at 5 a.m. and arrived in time for the start of the forum at nine o’clock. At the end of the forum, she confessed she really got some useful ideas that she could implement in their own brand of gardening in their convent. A fellow from Cabanatuan City also braved the flooded roads just to attend the forum.
Professionals, businessmen, hobbyists, aspiring home gardeners and others were all there eager to learn one practical way of growing vegetables without soil right in their homes. Others were there to find out if the technology could be undertaken as a business. Right at the venue, Toto Barcelona who owns the Events Center building is starting to demonstrate not only how to grow hydroponic veggies as a business but also other techniques of producing high-value crops like melons and strawberry under drip-irrigated facilities.
Wilson showed how hydroponics can be a means of producing one’s vegetable requirements in the home even in a limited space. The vegetables produced are very clean, maybe even more hygienic than the organic vegetables grown in soil. That’s because the soil could be infested with pathogenic organisms.
TRIPLE TREAT – This coming Saturday, July 28, there will be a triple treat for the Agribiz attendees. Toto Barcelona will be sharing winning strategies in agribusiness. He will talk about how young Taiwanese