Agriya, Damosa Land Inc.'s (DLI) 88-ha agropolis in Davao del Norte, is on a mission to make agriculture great again.

It has "been looked down on," explained DLI president Ricardo Lagdameo. "If there was anybody who was going to do this kind of project--a real estate based on agriculture--it would be a group like us."

"[Agriculture] has been our main business for a good part of the last 70 years," he added. DLI is a sister company of Tagum Agricultural Development Co., Inc. (Tadeco), the world's biggest banana plantation. Both are under the Anflo Management and Investment Corp. (Anflocor) conglomerate.

'Agropolis'

The mixed-use project is located in the "Banana Capital of the Philippines," Panabo City. The place largely owes the moniker--and its economic progress--to Tadeco, originally a local abaca producer established in the 1950s.

The concept took time to ripen, revealed Lagdameo. "Believe it or not, the main concept of Agriya was done in 2009, I wasn't even with the company yet."

His grandfather Don Antonio Floirendo, the family patriarch behind Anflocor, came up with the idea together with an uncle and Ar. Felino A. Palafox Jr., who coined the word "agropolis" to refer to the vision of melding agriculture and the metropolitan life.

After a decade, DLI saw that the region was ready for the pioneering project. Lagdameo explained that Davaenos became interested in real estate and discerning about their purchases as national and local players offered various products. To give itself an edge, DLI embraced agriculture.

Premier community

Ameria subdivision, which broke ground recently, is the first premier subdivision in Davao del Norte. The project, the first of many residential developments in Agriya, will cover 8.9 ha and provide 177 homes on larger lots. Instead of landscaping, DLI will set up plant beds for homeowners.

Surplus produce will not go to waste, Lagdameo said as "we can sell it in a community market or market outside." The enterprise could further grow into a Davao iteration of the Makati weekend markets. Choice amenities at Ameria meanwhile will invite dwellers to the great outdoors: a clubhouse, multipurpose hall, swimming pool, open parks and pocket gardens, and playgrounds.

Homeowners can even treat Agriya's Naturetainment as their amenity, explained Lagdameo. This component is a learning playground open to guests and future Ameria residents. They can go horseback riding or even go boating in the large lagoon. A farming zone allows guests to view farms planted to bananas and other high-value crops.

"Agriya is going to take advantage of the great outdoors, which everyone now is putting so much value on," noted Lagdameo. Commercial spaces will be plaza-type centers with al fresco areas, not big-box malls. The development also enjoys closeness to the Davao Gulf.

Professional school for agriculture

In a move that will benefit the rest of Mindanao, Agriya allotted 3 ha so the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) can operate a Professional School for Agriculture and the Environment.

"What happens now is that, if you are an agriculturist, you fly all the way to Los Baños for your higher education," Lagdameo said. "Most agriculture is found in Mindanao, so how come we don't have a topnotch professional school like UPLB… At the end of the day, it will level up the quality of education for Mindanao and people won't leave their homes."

While outside Davao City, Agriya is not detached from it. Lagdameo likens Panabo to Santa Rosa City in Laguna, which is highly accessible to those from Metro Manila. Agriya is just 40 minutes from downtown Davao City and even nearer to Tagum up north. Those looking for career or business growth can explore opportunities at the Anflo Industrial Estate or the Davao International Container Terminal--also Anflocor projects.

Agriya, short for "agricultural city by Anflocor," honors the Floirendo legacy and Mindanao's agricultural heritage, but Lagdameo also believes that "it talks about how innovative we are, how out of the box we like to think."

With close to 60 percent of the Ameria units already sold, agriculture might be on its way to being great again.