Proposal
PROBLEM
The average age of a Filipino farmer is 57-59 years old. If the average lifespan of a Filipino farmer is 75 years, the Philippines will reach a critical shortage of farmers within the next 15 years (De Carbon, 2021). This poses a real threat in terms of our food security as a nation.
What about the next generation of Filipino farmers? A recent study (Joram, 2023) showed that the next generation is largely uninterested in pursuing a career in agriculture because of three key reasons: 1) farming is perceived to be unprofitable; 2) farming involves hard physical labor; and 3) the general lack of interest in agriculture (in other words, farming is just not cool; the Filipinos of today are disconnected from farming, and they have no desire to pursue a career in farming).
Currently, the country is combating this problem through imports, but what can we do to effectively save Philippine agriculture in the long run? How can we make sure that our nation’s food security is kept independent from other countries? How can we make farming an attractive, profitable, and respectable profession that is considered a viable career choice for younger generations?
SOLUTION
To address the problem of food security, AGRID seeks to innovate old agricultural practices in the Philippines by making farming simpler, providing custom designed, Precision Smart Farms that can fit any urban space, whether indoor or outdoor. Our Precision Smart Farms are modular, physical units that utilize hydroponic farming techniques to grow crops in any space; these smart farms will be run by an in-house AI created to maintain and manage its crops, provide timely insights for growth cycles, and keep hard labor at a minimum, while, at the same time, maximize output.
By fitting these modular farms into idle spaces and lands, AGRID’s aim is to be the top-of-mind supplier and service provider for the job. AGRID’s hope is that these advancements in the field of agriculture will contribute in strengthening our country’s food security and self-sufficiency.
United Nations’ Sustainable Goals
In terms of contributing to the United Nations’ sustainable goals, we believe that the three most-significant goals that AGRID helps to fulfill are: Goal #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; Goal #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; and Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
With regard to providing decent work and fueling economic growth, the subsequent byproduct of establishing precision urban-farms in the Philippines is the need for man-power to manage and maintain the said urban farms. This results in new jobs created wherever these urban farms are established. Additionally, as previously mentioned, farming in the Philippines is perceived as a profession closely related to poverty and hardships; by associating farming with new technologies and high-tech infrastructure, we hope that the perception of farming will change for the better, eventually being perceived as a decent, respectable, and even desirable profession that will peak the interest of younger generations of Filipinos.
What about industry, innovation, and infrastructure? Farming and agriculture in the Philippines is outdated in terms of practices, technology, and general infrastructure. What we have right now is insufficient to meet the needs of our country in terms of local food security. By using advanced farming technologies and practices, we can help improve our country’s agricultural industry, by increasing efficiency and output, and propelling farming technology into the future.
Lastly, part of what AGRID envisions to do is to be able to involve communities, both big and small, in our initiatives to promote urban-farming in the Philippines. This vision can take shape in the form of medium-sized, local, urban-farms that provide fresh produce to benefit the local community, or commercial-sized, precision urban-farms that are able to supply the needs of whole cities, promoting local food security and self-sufficiency.
CLOSING
It is our mission to push the development of these Precision Smart Farms in every corner of the Philippine metropolitan grid in order to promote greener spaces, greater accessibility to produce, and better public appreciation towards the farming lifestyle and agricultural industry. With AGRID, every home will have near-instant access to farm fresh produce, anytime and everywhere.
References
Bolido, L. B. (2021, October 19). Agri sector slow to adopt new technology – Project Rebound. The Philippine Daily Inquirer Project Rebound. https://projectrebound.inquirer.net/6050/agri-sector-slow-to-adopt-new-technology/
De Carbon, A. (2021, February 8). Agriculture: a dying sector in the Philippines? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/agriculture-dying-sector-philippines-aur%C3%A9e-de-carbon
Joram, L. (2023, May 16). The Dwindling interest: Unveiling the reasons why young people
shun agriculture. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dwindling-interest-unveiling-reasons-why-young-people-lemaiyan-joram