Proposed onion cold storage in Alcala joins other RPAB-approved SPs for PRDP Scale-up funding
Date Published: February 25, 2024
The proposed construction of an onion cold storage in Alcala, Pangasinan, received approval from the Ilocos Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) in a meeting last week, February 14th.
The cold storage has a total project cost of Php193.6M, with 80% sourced from World Bank loan proceeds and 20% funded by the Department of Agriculture and the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Alcala.
The subproject (SP) was proposed by the LGU of Alcala to address constraints in the value chain for onions in the municipality. Some of these include small-time farmers’ lack of access to onion cold storage, the high cost of transporting their produce to the storage facility, and expensive storage fees in privately-owned cold storage plants.
According to the feasibility study conducted for the SP, the nearest storage facility to the area is in Bayambang, Pangasinan, which is 9.2 km away. Others are in San Fabian, Pangasinan, approximately 52 km away, and in San Jose, Nueva Ecija, which is 63 km away. Alcala farmers would need to travel these distances if the nearest establishment cannot accommodate their harvest.
Meanwhile, in the results of the expanded-vulnerability and suitability assessment (E-VSA) on onions, Alcala ranked 3rd among other municipalities in Pangasinan in terms of area harvested at 355.1 ha and volume of production at 5,526 MT in 2018. These results show that Alcala has a competitive position for onion production within the province.
E-VSA is a GIS-based PRDP tool used to assess the suitability of a specific commodity in a particular area, combined with its vulnerability and socio-economic conditions.
Once established, the cold storage is expected to directly benefit 640 onion growers, including the Alcala Onion Rice Corn Multi-Purpose Cooperative, an existing group in the area supported by PRDP.
Ilocos Region is currently the 3rd onion producing region in the country.
Establishment of cold storage facilities all over the country is among the top priority agenda of DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel to help farmers gain higher income from their produce.
Present members of the RPAB during the meeting include DA-RFO 1 Regional Executive Director Annie Q. Bares, DA-RFO1 RTD for Operations Dennis I. Tactac, DPWH Representative Engr. Vilmaflor Gascon, DILG Local Government Operations Officer Mr. Pedro D. Gonzales, DAR Pangasinan Provincial Office Representative Atty. Tristan Juveñino U. Adviento, RAFC Chairman Mr. Benjamin Y. Campañano, DENR Planning Division Chief Mr. Bernard B. Quiros, and DTI Assistant Regional Director Merlie D. Membrere.
The RPAB consists of seven member-agencies, chaired by DA-RFO1. The board reviews and approves subprojects (SPs) at the regional level and provides advisory and guidance to improve project performance.
