In the greenhouse of Roge Putipanpong, called VLove Farm, leafy greens and vine crops are growing. Since his farm is located near Pattaya in Thailand, the company has opted for a retractable roof cooling house, enabling them to grow in a tropical, humid climate. During the Horti Asia tradeshow, Cravo, a supplier of the retractable roof cooling house and greenhouse technology, has organized a field day at the farm.
Two growing zones
Roge's 2.200 sqm A-Frame structure has two growing zones; one for leafy and the other for vine crops. The top roof is the cooling roof in both zones, the leafy zone has a retractable insect net, and the vine has a stationary insect net.
In the leafy house, multiple leafy crops and herbs are being grown. According to Roge, they look extremely good, even in the most difficult times of the year. The manual moving gullies system, designed by him, is simple and practical.
In the vine zone, he is growing cherry tomatoes and chilies. He has planted a few plants of blueberries of the Biloxi variety for the trail.
Tourism
Roge is selling his products online within a radius of 20 km from his farm and through his retail counter inside the farm. He has purchased a reefer van for the delivery of his produce twice a day in the locality and once a week in Bangkok city.
Overall, Roge is happy with his performance this year because he is getting an average monthly sale of 400,000-500,000 Baht (12,000 USD), but he can do better once the tourism industry returns to pre- Covid levels. Due to Covid and the lack of tourists in Pattaya, prices are low but he is hoping to get good prices once this industry booms. Since 2018, he's been increasing sales every year and survived Covid time by selling to local consumers.
He said that due to Covid, his silk factory is shut down, but he managed to retain his workers and staff for the fresh business. Although, he is struggling with cash as prices are low, he is hoping to get better prices with the opening of hotels and restaurants in the coming days.
He is also open for visitors on a chargeable basis and wanted to establish his own restaurant on the front side of his farm. He told us that an eight lane road is coming up in front of his premises, leading to the third international airport in Thailand in Pattaya city, which is just 30 km from his farm.
Farm visit
In all, 17 visitors from different countries participated in this trip. Visitors also got a chance to see the world-famous “Nong Nooch Tropical Garden” owned by Roge’s uncle nearby.
Mr. Rajeeb Roy from Agriplast India has thanked the Cravo Asia team for organizing this beautiful trip to the farm. "The icing on the cake was the Botanical Garden. It was a great learning and eye-opening trip."
He further said that he is sure that many of his friends will agree with this statement “In Agriculture, there is no shortcut to quality and the right technology.”
Mr. Atiq Muhammed Kochra from Pakistan who especially came to see this project said that he personally learned a lot, and his perspective on the technology stands at a much higher level, thanks to this tour.
Most of the visitors who participated in this tour are from India but also from ASEAN countries and South Asian regions.
Rajender Kumar (on the right side), Cravo Business Development Manager for South & East Asia, and his colleague Mr. Shashank Jain (left side) Technical Greenhouse Engineer looking after this region
For more information:
Rajender Kumar
Cravo Equipment
Phone: +(1) 519 759 8226 x 215
rajendert@cravo.com
www.cravo.com