The Department of Agriculture will build six cold storage facilities in four onion-producing regions starting this year in support of local farmers. Each facility with a capacity of 20,000 bags will cost up to PHP40 million (€2.28 mln) and will rise in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Mimaropa regions.
Two cold storage facilities will be built in Occidental Mindoro but Calisangan raised concerns over the locations. For instance, a planned facility in Rizal town is about 16 to 20 kilometers away from San Jose, the largest onion-producing area in the province. The other planned site in Sablayan is farther at 97 kilometers.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also heads the DA, previously reiterated the need to support farmers, insisting that imports should not be a long-term response to the nation's needs.
In March 2022, the DA turned over two cold onion storage facilities, with capacity of 10,000 and 20,000 bags respectively to farmers of Valiant Primary Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Barangay Marcos Village, Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, and a PHP20-million (€1.14 mln) facility to the Sapang Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Moncada, Tarlac.
Source: pna.gov.ph