CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A seed storage facility worth PHP7.11-million will rise in Valencia City, Bukidnon by February 2022.
In a Facebook post on Friday, officials of the Valencia City government and the Department of Agriculture (DA) 10 (Northern Mindanao) led the groundbreaking ceremony, signaling the start of the construction of the seed storage facility in Nutriland Purok 1, Barangay Pinatilan.
Valencia City Vice Mayor Policarpo P. Murillo said the city has 30,000 hectares of agricultural area, of which 11,000 hectares are devoted to rice production.
According to DA-10's database, the storage facility has a total area of 320 square meters, with cold storage of 160 square meters and ambient of 160 square meters.
Funded by DA’s Rice Program, it has a 99-ton capacity for the cold storage of rice seeds, while 156 tons for the ambient. The cold storage is intended to prolong the shelf life and improve the quality of the seeds up to about two years.
According to DA-10 Bukidnon Provincial Operations Center Chief, Dr. Janet D. Lopez, the DA welcomes "requests for agri-assistance to make farming communities become more productive." (PR)
