by Ernesto T. Solidum
To see, high quality vegetables at reasonable prices, visit the sprawling greenhouse farm of George Attaliotis. That scientific vegetable farm is located in Toledo, Nabas, right before reaching Toledo National High School. It is a stones’ throw from the National highway going to the beach. An imposing metal and plastic infrastructure alerts a probable visitor in search for high quality vegetables. Popular and most sought after culinary varieties are grown and produced destined for the high end market of Boracay, the country’s premier tourist destination.
George, 71 is Greek by descent but Australian by nationality. An agronomist by profession, his expertise is more on designing and constructing different types of green houses for use by garden enthusiasts back in his home state of Australia. Either working alone or with a business partner, most favored consumer demands are grown like tomatoes, pepper, onion, melon, beans, lettuce, and cucumber. The facility is equipped with packaging and cold storage equipment to assure fresh and damaged-free vegetables.
"The Philippines has a good soil and favorable climate to grow vegetables yet the demand is never met", said the hard working Aussie. This is the reason why I came here to invest and reap whatever success and experience that may come my way. My initial vegetable greenhouse projects were in Cavite, and Batangas in 1995 where premium prices were achieved for high quality product. As we all know, buyers in Metro Manila have discriminating taste than here in the provinces. Cost of handling and transport are held to a minimum because of nearness of farm to the market", explained George.
To engage in a one hectare commercial greenhouse operation is more of patience, hard work and technical skills. Although money is an important factor to consider in any business undertaking, it may not be decisive since you can start small and then expand later. At any rate return on investment is relatively higher", he pointed out.
For every 1000 square meter of greenhouse with complete paraphernalia, investment cost is P1 million. This includes polyethylene roofing, GI structural frame, drip irrigation and nylon net enclosure. George has separate elevated nursery beds and huge concrete tanks for collecting rainwater. Seedling bags filled with a mixture of coco pit, carbonized rice hull, and organic matter serve as growing media for vegetables. Evenly spread rows have individual trellises where viny and slender stem of plants cling for support. Judicious pruning is done by five (5) full time laborers to insure that desirable numbers of fruits are nurtured to maturity.
Considering the modified environment of growing vegetables, a 1000 square meter plot of tomatoes produces an average of 10 tons, while pepper of same area is 6 tons per year (2 cropping cycle). Most of George’s products are sold direct to hotels and restaurants in Boracay. Sometimes, middlemen are involved but they’re of least priority to avoid rock bottom price.
How do you compare prices of vegetables in Manila and Aklan?
According to George, there is a lot of difference since there is a huge market in the metropolis of 9 millions. "Whereas, Boracay customers can only be a small fraction. Demand is governed by intensity of tourist arrivals. Therefore, I have to grow vegetables that are in demand at a time. This greenhouse project started into full operation only in February 2011 and I am just learning the market trend," said George.
Presently, the first batch of melon harvest is done by laborers. The following month could be lettuce and sweet pepper. Inside the greenhouse could be an aseptic environment because obnoxious weeds are nowhere to be found. Instead, drip irrigation plastic tubings find their way to individual growing plants. Pest an diseases are very insignificant to pose any problem at all.
George’s architectural design and construction of greenhouses in Toledo, Nabas are based on prevailing weather condition to withstand winds up to 180 kph. Most of his materials are ordered direct from Taiwan and shipped in bulk. Among his satisfied customers are the DA former secretaries: Edgardo Angara, Chito Lorenzo, and Arthur Yap when they contracted him to build for farmer organizations.
George intends to acquire 3.0 hectares of agricultural property within a 7 kilometer radius from his present greenhouse location to be planted to Cavendish and Lacatan varieties of bananas. He is optimistic that given the right technology, local production could be remarkably increased.
Hands on supervision, winning personality, diligence, and professional competence can be the key to success of George who migrated here for good. His passion and dedication can be diminished by age but, the spirit never yields. /MP
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