While having a conversation with a retired science professor who taught Environmental Sciences in Ateneo de Manila University, an interesting topic was brought up. Why not create a course in Agricultural Engineering in Ateneo with a focus on designing, building, and operating the city farms of the future?

The topic is timely and relevant especially with the challenges that our country presently faces.

For example, we suffer from food insecurity. And factors are stacking up against the Philippines’ chance at overcoming this challenge. We have an aging farmer population, the younger ones are no longer interested in agriculture, available farmlands are decreasing, access to irrigation is lacking, soil has become polluted and infertile, there is still a preponderance of non-modern agricultural practices, and climate change makes our farms extremely vulnerable.

And then there are problems related to middle-men cornering the market price and transportation and spoilage costs. By reason of this complicated network that is the food industry, there is also a lack of transparency that would allow one to trace where food came from and verify if the source took much care in avoiding the use of harmful pesticides and other carcinogenic chemicals on the produce that will be consumed by people.

Mint is a fast crawler and can quickly take over an entire grow bed.

System design is a key component of the agricultural engineering course.

Basically, it’s a nightmare. And the problem will require a unique solution and it must be expanded. We need to do farming in a modern way. And we have to learn fast. Thankfully, there is precedent in our country as to how this can be done.

Agricultural schools such as Central Luzon State University (CLSU) and UP Los Baños are presently engaged in research and development of new agricultural practices that can be employed to remedy the problems discussed. Said schools are involved in soil-less agriculture, green house developments, vertical farming and indoor food production using artificial lights. There is a template that can be used as a benchmark for an Agricultural Engineering course in Ateneo.

If memory serves this writer well, this arrangement of partnering with other schools in Metro Manila is not new for CLSU. Ateneo and CLSU can explore partnering with each other for this venture. Modern greenhouses, climate resilient (and controlled environment) farms with aquaponics and hydroponics systems utilized can even be built inside Ateneo’s campus. There are still much unused open spaces that can be tapped for this purpose.

Best of all, the produce will already have a market: the university itself.

What is grown can be used by the cafeteria and the food stalls inside the school. The produce can also be for the new Ateneo culinary course or perhaps the Jesuit residences. The template will follow what is called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

Further, in line with being men and women for and with others, CSA can even be implemented in communities that are part of the university’s National Service Training Program. Not only can it assist in providing food and livelihood opportunities for the residents, it can also help strengthen the social fabric of the local communities.

Evidently, there are several benefits that can come from creating an agricultural course in Ateneo. It is not only timely and relevant given the circumstances that our country finds itself in concerning food security and food purity. It is also compatible (if not complementary) with the university’s mission to mold its students into men and women for and with others.