Filipino Farm Family Seeking Land for Fresh Asian Vegetables in the Fraser Valley

• General farming (3 years+) - All three of us come from a family of farmers in the Philippines where we grew rice using the traditional transplanting method (full cycle from paddy preparation to harvest) and raised vegetables including saluyot, siling haba, squash, eggplant, and garlic as part of our family livelihood. This is hands-on, in-field experience across multiple growing seasons.
• Other experience/agricultural/business training - All three of us completed the Department of Education's EPP (Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan) program in elementary school and the TLE (Technology and Livelihood Education) Agriculture and Fishery Arts curriculum in high school in the Philippines, which included the Gulayan sa Paaralan school vegetable garden programme. Since 2020, Oscar Agreda has maintained an active vegetable garden in Surrey, BC, growing squash, talong, chili, bell pepper, tomatoes, and ampalaya, with consistent harvests supplying family and friends for six years. John Lester Peralta brings IT and business management experience covering marketing, sales, financial tracking, and operations planning.

Who We Are: We are Sariwa Fields Farm. Sariwa means fresh in Filipino, and that is exactly what we are here to do. My uncle Oscar Agreda, my cousin Roent Jan Balalio, and I (John Lester Peralta) are a family of farmers from the Philippines bringing everything we grew up doing to the Fraser Valley. Our Story: Farming is not something we picked up recently. We grew up working the land, growing rice using the traditional transplanting method and raising saluyot, siling haba, squash, eggplant, and garlic as part of how our family ate and earned a living. We went through hands-on agricultural education in the Philippine school system and since 2020, Oscar has run a productive vegetable garden in Surrey, BC, where all three of us grow squash, talong, chili, bell pepper, tomatoes, and ampalaya together. Six years of consistent harvests shared with family and friends. We know what grows here. Our Team: Oscar is a carpenter, Roent is a welder, and I come from an IT background transitioning to full-time farming. Between us we can build our own shed, trellising, and growing structures without contractors. Oscar and Roent farm around their current jobs with the goal of spending more time on the farm as it grows. Our Mission: Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are home to hundreds of thousands of Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai families who cook with vegetables that are nearly impossible to find fresh locally. Most of what they buy is imported, tired, and expensive. We are here to change that by growing these vegetables fresh, locally, and with the cultural understanding of someone who grew up eating them. What We Are Growing: Siling haba, squash/kalabasa (including blossoms and tendrils), saluyot, Chinese eggplant, okra, sitaw, ampalaya, and Russian garlic. After garlic harvest in July, we rotate sitaw and saluyot through the garlic beds. Sitaw fixes nitrogen back into the soil naturally, feeding the next garlic cycle. We are also growing ube. The global ube market is valued at USD $1.34 billion, growing 7.2% per year, and Canada is the second-largest importer from the Philippines. Supply is declining while demand across North American restaurants and bakeries is rising fast. We plan to be one of the first farms in BC growing ube locally. How We Sell: 1 to 2 Asian grocers in Surrey or Langley, on-farm direct sales, and U-pick days on weekends and weekday afternoons during summer. Our Plan: We have a written business plan covering our team, crops, zone layout, financial projections, a Fraser Valley-specific growing guide, and grants we plan to pursue. We are ready. We just need the land.

• Registered Lease on Title -
• Lease -

Either works for us. We are comfortable starting with already cultivated land or fallow land that needs preparation. Oscar and Roent can handle soil prep, bed building, and basic land improvement as part of our setup work. We would conduct a soil test on any matched property before planting to understand what amendments are needed, and we have budgeted for soil improvement in our startup costs.

• Vegetable - Specialty Asian vegetables targeting Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai communities across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Our crops: Siling haba (long green chili) Squash / kalabasa (including blossoms and tendrils) Saluyot (jute mallow) Chinese eggplant / talong Okra Sitaw (Filipino long beans) Ampalaya (bitter melon) Ube (purple yam) Russian garlic (hardneck, including scapes and green garlic)

• Organic -