Guests during the lettuce harvest festival, including Iligan Mayor Frederick Siao (3rd from L), at the ICNHS grounds on Monday, 25 September 2023. MindaNews photo by MARIVIC OMANDAM DAVIS
Iligan City (MindaNews / 26 September) – The Iligan City National High School (ICNHS) harvested for the first time on Monday lettuce propagated through a hydroponic farming system initiated by the Maxell and Einstein (Maxtein) Alumni Batch 1997.
The school harvested 30 kilograms (kg) of lettuce with a market value of P9,000, or P300 per kg.
Zisimo Gomez, ICNHS principal, lauded Maxtein Batch 1997 for the project that was launched last July 25 with a fund of P913,468, used for the construction of the advanced hydroponic farming system.
“Thank you very much. On behalf of ICNHS’s 296 teaching force, 55 non-teaching personnel, and 8,376 learners, we gladly accept your project,” he said during the harvest festival’s ribbon-cutting and turnover ceremony.
The Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology’s (MSU-IIT) Electronics Engineering Department constructed the Hydroponics and Smart Farming System at the ICNHS Campus for its Senior High STEM track.
Dr. Jonathan de la Pena, Department of Education – Iligan schools division superintendent, praised Maxtein Batch 1997 for giving back to the ICNHS, referring to them as “legends who exemplify the school’s success in producing productive citizens.”
“I would like to express my heartfelt commendations and appreciation for your effort and my salute to you for being legends. You are proof that this school has been very successful in producing productive citizens because you are here giving back as a productive alumni of ICNHS,” he said.
“Hydroponics is not just about the lessons that we learned in the classroom, but it is the technology that you are transferring to our learners,” he added.
Mayor Frederick Siao urged other schools in the city to replicate the hydroponic project of ICNHS.
“We can start by identifying three to four schools that will be trained with hydroponics farming. Eventually, those trained will transfer the technology to the youths and parents in their communities,” he said.
Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil. It can include an aggregate substrate or growing media such as vermiculite, coconut coir or perlite. (Marivic Omandam Davis / MindaNews)
