For many Filipinos, strawberries represent one thing: a vacation to the cool hills of Baguio, sticky fingers from fresh picks and that unmistakable sweet-tart bite. Strawberries are a fruit appreciated by people of all ages and cultures because they are bright, juicy and feel a little unique.
What if you didn't have to drive far to get high-quality strawberries? What if the future of farming brought luscious, pesticide-free berries closer to home — grown in a highly controlled indoor environment rather than on mountain soil? That is the idea behind the Philippines' first indoor, climate-controlled, vertical strawberry farm, which is powered by innovation, trust and the belief that local agriculture can be redefined.
"We have come far, but there is a long way to go," shared Jayson Fumera, co-founder of the pioneering farm, in an interview with Daily Tribune — a phrase that perfectly captures the journey thus far: progress has been made, but the mission continues. For Fumera, the guiding philosophy is simple, "Right place, right time and right quantity."
The story began in 2017 when Lewis Yu and Fumera, a young agricultural engineer with a daring plan to transform farming and food production in the nation, met. Despite coming from opposite backgrounds, the two formed a partnership based on the same goal. Yu started to see the dream as something worth creating together as they got closer, rather than just as Fumera's.
Read more at Daily Tribune
