P190-M cold storage to benefit onion farmers in Nueva Ecija
Palayan City, NUEVA ECIJA – A P190 million cold storage facility will soon rise in Barangay Caballero, this city.
Representing Undersecretary for Operations and National Project Director of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) Engr. Ariel T. Cayanan, DA Regional Director Crispulo G. Bautista Jr. together with PRDP Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO 3) Action Officer Gil G. David and Palayan City Mayor Adrianne Mae J. Cuevas led recently the groundbreaking ceremony of the facility which will rise on a 2,422 square meter lot donated by KASAMNE to the city government, here.
In a brief speech, RPCO 3 Action Officer Gil G. David stressed that due to the lack of storage facilities, farmers are often forced to market their produce at a low price; but with the construction of the cold storage, it will enable farmers to store their produce in safe custody and obtain a good price.
David also encouraged the beneficiaries and local authorities to value and uphold proper maintenance to the facility upon its completion adding how challenging it is to avail a vast project with a huge allocated budget to the PRDP.
Meanwhile, City Mayor Cuevas expressed her gratitude to the PRDP and the local authorities for the efforts and assistance that helped execute the project to aid in delivering quality services to its constituents.
The hundred million construction of the facility is shouldered jointly by the World Bank, the Government of the Philippines and the City Government of Palayan.
The construction will be closely monitored by the PRDP I-BUILD Component supervised by Rural Infrastructure Engineer Bon Alexis Guatato and is expected to be operational by 2020 with an initial 120,000 bags capacity.
Also present during the event are Geomapping and Governance Unit (GGU) Specialist Vladimir Puno, local executives, representatives from partner agencies and farm cooperatives. (Ma. Reina Len Luna, RPCO 3 InfoACE)
