By Therese J. Camet
The Manila Bulletin Online, 12 February 2005
Thanks to Lyndon Tan, one of the 2003 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees, the Philippines no longer has to import lettuce!
For many years, the Philippines was always dependent on other countries for its supply of lettuces, particularly Australia and the United States.
With an average of 400,000 kilos imported every year, these leafy vegetables were among the most expensive items sold in the supermarkets.
One kilogram of imported lettuce was usually sold at PhP 200 until in the late 1990's, prices dropped to PhP 60 to PhP 90. This was about the time that Lyndon Tan came up with Basic Necessity, a vegetable farm in Silang, Cavite, which was intended to provide a "basic necessity" vegetables.
Established in June 1997, the sprawling eight-hectare farm initially grew a wide variety of produce such as tomatoes, different kinds of herbs, capsicum and bell peppers, lettuces, broccoli, alfalfa, and eggplants, among others.
However, two years later, Tan decided to concentrate on growing lettuces.
"I put up my own farm because I've always had the passion for agriculture since my family owns a rice mill in Naga City. One of the primary reasons I decided to focus on lettuce farming was because I wanted to stop or at least reduce our lettuce importations," explained Tan.
"I realized that if we could only grow enough lettuces to meet the demands of our people, then we wouldn't have to import them anymore. Not only that, we would be helping the Filipino farmers and the agriculture industry too," he continued.
Aware that the Philippines' tropical climate and soil were inadequate to grow lettuces all-year-round, Tan was challenged to seek ways to resolve the problem. And so, he discovered the wonders of "hydroponic" growing or soil-less farming.
Raised and educated in Naga City, Bicol, he earned his master's degree from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati in 2000.
To gain a thorough understanding on hydroponic farming, Tan conducted further research and attended agricultural training in Australia and the United States. He would later apply all these in his Basic Necessity.
Growing lettuce hydroponically is not a new science, but it is relatively new to the Philippines, he said.
"Hydroponics" is derived from the Latin word which means "working water."
Used by scientists to study the inorganic nutrition of plants in the 1930s, hydroponics is a very advanced method of growing plants that uses other medium such as cocopeat (coconut fiber and palay husk), instead of soil, enabling the plant to produce more vegetation, larger fruits and flowers.
What's more, the hydroponic technique uses computer software to control lighting, environmental conditions, nutrient balance, water Ph, and other parameters to create optimal lettuce-growing conditions.
"The computer runs everything in the farm," noted Tan.
"There are 14 green houses in the entire farm but I only have 30 workers to supervise them because we practically don't need to do anything - the computer does all the work for us. The workers are just there for the transplant and harvest," he explained.
With the efficiency of hyroponics, Basic Necessity is able to harvest around 1,500 kilos of lettuces everyday which supplies the hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and other establishments nationwide.
"Because of this technology, the Philippines doesn't import lettuces anymore because we have enough lettuces to supply our consumers' demands. We distribute all over the country as far as Amanpulo in Palawan and Cebu," he enthused.
Basic Necessity grows different varieties of lettuces such as lollo rossa, red and green romaine, red corals, red and green oakleaf, frellise and urugula, which are a great aid for weight lost according to Tan.
"Actually the demand for lettuces is increasing these days as more and more people are becoming more conscious about their health and figure especially when all these diets came out such the South Beach and Atkins diets," shared Tan.
Immediately after actor Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) died of a stroke, orders for Basic Necessity tripled. "I think people suddenly became health conscious - they just wanted to eat salads," Tan related chuckling.
Aside from lettuces, cherry tomatoes are also grown in one of these high-tech greenhouses affording Basic Necessity a bountiful harvest of 100 kilos everyday.
Not to mention the alfalfa sprouts which are processed in the sprouting equipment that he bought from the United States making him "the first commercial sprouts grower in the country."
Although hydroponically outfitted and assured of a successful harvest all-year-round (being unaffected by sudden changes in weather), Basic Necessity does experience farm-related problems every now and then.
"Our biggest challenge is the 'quality control' because lettuce is a kind of vegetable that has no boiling point, meaning you don't cook it. Therefore we have to make sure it is always fresh and clean," related Tan.
At any rate, customers are assured that Basic Necessity only provides the freshest vegetables because it is HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certified.
As a treat to salad and vegetable enthusiasts, Basic Necessity came up with "Salad Time" - a ready-to-eat salad in a bag - which was introduced mid last year.
"Salad Time was designed for those people who want to enjoy a fresh salad but don�t have enough time to prepare one," said Tan.
A bag of Salad Time is good for 2 to 4 servings and can be eaten right straight from the bag because it is 'tripled washed' and contains no preservatives.
Salad Time is available at leading supermarkets nationwide and is available in salads of spinach, urugula & mixed greens, cherry tomatoes with alfalfa sprouts & Ceasar romaine, and cherry tomatoes with alfalfa sprouts & mix greens.
This is one "basic necessity" of a delicious, wholesome meal, says the "lettuce king" Lyndon Tan.
The Manila Bulletin Online, 12 February 2005
Thanks to Lyndon Tan, one of the 2003 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees, the Philippines no longer has to import lettuce!
For many years, the Philippines was always dependent on other countries for its supply of lettuces, particularly Australia and the United States.
With an average of 400,000 kilos imported every year, these leafy vegetables were among the most expensive items sold in the supermarkets.
One kilogram of imported lettuce was usually sold at PhP 200 until in the late 1990's, prices dropped to PhP 60 to PhP 90. This was about the time that Lyndon Tan came up with Basic Necessity, a vegetable farm in Silang, Cavite, which was intended to provide a "basic necessity" vegetables.
Established in June 1997, the sprawling eight-hectare farm initially grew a wide variety of produce such as tomatoes, different kinds of herbs, capsicum and bell peppers, lettuces, broccoli, alfalfa, and eggplants, among others.
However, two years later, Tan decided to concentrate on growing lettuces.
"I put up my own farm because I've always had the passion for agriculture since my family owns a rice mill in Naga City. One of the primary reasons I decided to focus on lettuce farming was because I wanted to stop or at least reduce our lettuce importations," explained Tan.
"I realized that if we could only grow enough lettuces to meet the demands of our people, then we wouldn't have to import them anymore. Not only that, we would be helping the Filipino farmers and the agriculture industry too," he continued.
Aware that the Philippines' tropical climate and soil were inadequate to grow lettuces all-year-round, Tan was challenged to seek ways to resolve the problem. And so, he discovered the wonders of "hydroponic" growing or soil-less farming.
Raised and educated in Naga City, Bicol, he earned his master's degree from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati in 2000.
To gain a thorough understanding on hydroponic farming, Tan conducted further research and attended agricultural training in Australia and the United States. He would later apply all these in his Basic Necessity.
Growing lettuce hydroponically is not a new science, but it is relatively new to the Philippines, he said.
"Hydroponics" is derived from the Latin word which means "working water."
Used by scientists to study the inorganic nutrition of plants in the 1930s, hydroponics is a very advanced method of growing plants that uses other medium such as cocopeat (coconut fiber and palay husk), instead of soil, enabling the plant to produce more vegetation, larger fruits and flowers.
What's more, the hydroponic technique uses computer software to control lighting, environmental conditions, nutrient balance, water Ph, and other parameters to create optimal lettuce-growing conditions.
"The computer runs everything in the farm," noted Tan.
"There are 14 green houses in the entire farm but I only have 30 workers to supervise them because we practically don't need to do anything - the computer does all the work for us. The workers are just there for the transplant and harvest," he explained.
With the efficiency of hyroponics, Basic Necessity is able to harvest around 1,500 kilos of lettuces everyday which supplies the hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and other establishments nationwide.
"Because of this technology, the Philippines doesn't import lettuces anymore because we have enough lettuces to supply our consumers' demands. We distribute all over the country as far as Amanpulo in Palawan and Cebu," he enthused.
Basic Necessity grows different varieties of lettuces such as lollo rossa, red and green romaine, red corals, red and green oakleaf, frellise and urugula, which are a great aid for weight lost according to Tan.
"Actually the demand for lettuces is increasing these days as more and more people are becoming more conscious about their health and figure especially when all these diets came out such the South Beach and Atkins diets," shared Tan.
Immediately after actor Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) died of a stroke, orders for Basic Necessity tripled. "I think people suddenly became health conscious - they just wanted to eat salads," Tan related chuckling.
Aside from lettuces, cherry tomatoes are also grown in one of these high-tech greenhouses affording Basic Necessity a bountiful harvest of 100 kilos everyday.
Not to mention the alfalfa sprouts which are processed in the sprouting equipment that he bought from the United States making him "the first commercial sprouts grower in the country."
Although hydroponically outfitted and assured of a successful harvest all-year-round (being unaffected by sudden changes in weather), Basic Necessity does experience farm-related problems every now and then.
"Our biggest challenge is the 'quality control' because lettuce is a kind of vegetable that has no boiling point, meaning you don't cook it. Therefore we have to make sure it is always fresh and clean," related Tan.
At any rate, customers are assured that Basic Necessity only provides the freshest vegetables because it is HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certified.
As a treat to salad and vegetable enthusiasts, Basic Necessity came up with "Salad Time" - a ready-to-eat salad in a bag - which was introduced mid last year.
"Salad Time was designed for those people who want to enjoy a fresh salad but don�t have enough time to prepare one," said Tan.
A bag of Salad Time is good for 2 to 4 servings and can be eaten right straight from the bag because it is 'tripled washed' and contains no preservatives.
Salad Time is available at leading supermarkets nationwide and is available in salads of spinach, urugula & mixed greens, cherry tomatoes with alfalfa sprouts & Ceasar romaine, and cherry tomatoes with alfalfa sprouts & mix greens.
This is one "basic necessity" of a delicious, wholesome meal, says the "lettuce king" Lyndon Tan.
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