The Department of Agriculture (DA) highlighted developments on its project of establishing several cold storage facilities this year to enhance agriculture production.

DA Undersecretary for High-Value Crops, Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero, said the government is ramping up its initiatives to ensure proper handling and storage of produce, especially as some regions have started to harvest their crops.

“The most important thing is the support for local [production] while we’re managing the glut that has happened in the past,” she told DAILY TRIBUNE on the sidelines of the India-Philippines B2B meeting on the food and agriculture sector in Makati City.

“Though there were challenges in terms of beefing up production due to the typhoon, we will be launching several cold storage facilities, one of which can store 750 metric tons of onions.”

According to Caballero, one of the facilities is ready to accept onions in Ilocos Sur, while others are in the process of “jumpstarting.”

Strategic locations pinpointed

“We are considering strategic locations, so we don’t allow excess production to be left to rot. Our onion production is increasing, but the challenge is where to store it and how often we can withdraw and distribute it,” she added.

In January, the DA announced its plan to build around 99 cold storage facilities starting this year, with a total of P3 billion allocated for the project. Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed that the use of P1.5 billion in unprogrammed funds for 2024 to kickstart the cold storage network was approved by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., with another P1.5 billion included in this year’s DA budget.

Caballero explained that, within the P3 billion allocated, mobile cold storage units with their power supply will also be included. “[These] will be our last-mile solution for areas that do not have access to power but can run on their own because of an embedded power system for those storages,” she said.

She also added that the DA is developing a model with multi-commodity distribution centers that will cater not only to onions but also other high-value crops to optimize the facilities.

“Since the cost of operations will be a bit high, there has to be a way to optimize the facility. We have one, and we are launching one in Cabanatuan and then another cold storage facility in Talavera. [W]e also have one in Mindoro, which is also big,” Caballero said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. defended the decision that allowed onions to be imported into the country, especially since the harvest season is near.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I’m here to manage. I am not a farmer. I am not an importer. I am the DA secretary and here to manage the situation,” he said in a Palace briefing.

The DA chief explained that there is a 7,000-ton deficit in the supply of onions and the DA was only able to open up the market for 4,000 tons of imported onions — 1,000 for white onions and 3,000 tons for red.

He assured farmers not to worry as the importation is limited to “address any spikes.”

“What we did is very tactical — limited volume, limited quantity, limited time. So, it should address any spikes,” Laurel said.

He stressed that importation is needed for February.

Laurel lamented that some large onion producers have said that they can only harvest onions in the middle of March until April, which prompted him to make a decision.

“If I don’t do anything now for this estimated gap and [prices] go up in Balintawak [market] the red onion is only P110, now it’s P170, so should I wait to make a decision? I have to think of the consumers as well, not just the farmers,” he said.

Earlier, farmer groups criticized this move saying that farmers are now afraid that they will not be able to sell goods at a good price.