COLD STORAGE HUB. The newly-completed P125-million cold storage facility in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija province. The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) funded the establishment of the 60,000-bag capacity facility that will enable farmers to store their produce longer and reduce post-harvest losses. (Photo courtesy of PRDP-Central Luzon)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – A PHP125-million cold storage facility that will benefit onion farmers in Nueva Ecija has been completed and is seen to operate soon.
Crispulo Bautista Jr., regional director of the Department of Agriculture-Central Luzon (DA-3), said on Friday that a joint team from the DA-Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) has conducted the final inspection of the onion cold storage facility located in Palayan City.
Bautista said the 60,000-bag capacity facility is expected to provide more farmers in Nueva Ecija easier access to cold storage at a lower cost and flexible payment.
“This facility intends to address the constraints identified in the value chain analysis (VCA) of onion which is the lack of post-harvest facilities to help preserve the quality of onions and eventually increase the profit of farmers,” he said in a statement.
Due to a lack of storage facilities, farmers are often forced to market their produce at a low price.
Likewise, he said that the cold storage will serve as a collection center where onions harvested from surrounding farms are to be sorted and packed in crates or bags by farmers.
The cold storage facility is a project of the Infrastructure Development (I-BUILD) component of the DA-PRDP and will be managed by the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija.
Bautista assured that the DA will construct more cold storage facilities to enable more farmers to safely store their produce.
The cold storage is seen to prolong the shelf life of onions by up to seven months and will prevent crops from rotting early and restrain insects from infesting goods.
Last March, the DA turned over cold onion storage facilities to members of the Caridad Sur Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CASFA) in Barangay Caridad Sur, Llanera town and Kalasag Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Barangay San Agustin, San Jose City, both in Nueva Ecija. (PNA)
