The members and representatives of the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) 1 endorsed four (4) infrastructure subprojects worth Php145.75 million on its 21st meeting held at the 5th Floor Conference Room, Department of Agriculture, San Fernando City, La Union on 10 December 2019.

Among the subprojects endorsed are the Construction of the Paoay Municipal Warehouse with Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement (MPDP) in Paoay, Ilocos Norte; Construction of the Taguiporo Multi-purpose Warehouse with Solar Dryer in Vintar, Ilocos Norte; Construction of San Jose Multi-purpose Warehouse with Solar Dryer in Vintar, Ilocos Norte; and the Alcala Cold Storage for Onion in Alcala, Pangasinan.

The Construction of Paoay Municipal Warehouse with MPDP is the third subproject proposal of the Municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP). The first proposal of the Municipality is the Rehabilitation of the Nalasin-Sungadan-Langiden Farm to Market Road which is already completed. Meanwhile, the Municipality’s second proposal – the Rehabilitation of the Paoay Communal Irrigation System (CIS) – has commenced construction.

According to Mr. James Galano, who presented the proposal, the warehouse with MPDP will be built in Barangay Nalasin, Paoay, Ilocos Norte. It is located at Station 00.00 of the completed Nalasin-Sungadan-Langiden Farm to Market Road and within the service area of the Paoay CIS. The infrastructure proposal is targeted to benefit commodities within the rural influence area such as rice, onion, tomato, and garlic.

Generally, the Paoay Warehouse with MPDP aims to improve the socio-economic condition of farmers within the direct rural influence area by increasing production and profitability, and by the development of potential agricultural areas. The subproject, specifically, targets to reduce post-harvest losses and enable farmers to choose the time of sale of their crops.

The warehouse will have a floor area of 463.60 square meters, wherein the storage area measures 278 sq.m., sorting area of 64 sq.m., office area of 60 sq.m., washing area of 10.4 sq.m., comfort rooms (4 units) with 11.20 sq. m. and loading area of 57 sq.m. It has a capacity of 9,408 onion/garlic 25kg-sacks or 4,704 rice cavans weighing 50 kilograms each. The Municipality proposes to charge a Php5.00-storage fee per cavan per month. The estimated cost of the warehouse is Php11,728,588.59 and is targeted to be accomplished within 300 calendar days.

A multi-purpose drying pavement (MPDP) which is juxtaposed to the proposed Municipal Warehouse has an area of 15m x 40m or 600 square meters with a capacity of 150 cavans per drying time. A drying fee of Php 2.00 per cavan will be charged. The MPDP has an estimated cost of Php1,897,569.28 and is scheduled to be completed within 70 calendar days.The warehouse and the MPDP has a total estimated cost of Php13,626,157.86.

The farmer organizations to be benefited through the proposed subproject are the Paoay Dara-darasin Integrated Farm Association (65 members), Sitio Mapusco Farm Association Inc. (49 members), North Eastern Part of Paoay Farmers Association Inc. (46 members), Sitio Namnamma Diaz Irrigators Association Inc. (82 members), and Bado Baliga Zanjera Association (92 members). In total, there are 334 household beneficiaries for the proposed subproject.

Meanwhile, the proposed Construction of San Jose Multi-Purpose Warehouse with Solar Dryer is located at Barangay San Jose, Vintar, Ilocos Norte. It has a total cost of Php7,777,000 and is targeted to benefit some 428 individuals and 122 households. On the other hand, the Construction of Taguiporo Multi-Purpose Warehouse with Solar Dryer is located at Barangay Salsalamagui, Vintar, Ilocos Norte. Similar to the preceding subproject, it has a total estimated project cost of Php7,777,000. It is expected to benefit some 1,995 individuals and 544 households.

Through the subprojects, the Municipality of Vintar aims to provide infrastructure in support to local production, enhance value chain for local produce such as rice, garlic, and onion by improving the quality of the produce at the place of origin, ensure food availability off-season, enable greater control and planning over crops, harvest, and transport, and increase the adaptability of farmers to climate change by adopting new technologies and farm practices.

In general, the infrastructures aim to improve the quality of life of the people by providing structurally safe and quality storage and drying facilities. Particularly, the subproject aims to increase the shelf life of agricultural commodities by at least 50%; to decrease postharvest losses by 5%; to reduce hauling cost and fare by at least P 500.00; to increase total selling price of the rice, corn, garlic, peanut, and onion; and, to encourage the adoption of enhanced production processes.

According to Mr. Robbie Benigno, who presented the proposals, the Municipality of Vintar in Ilocos Norte proposed the infrastructures for its garlic and onion farmers. Given that Vintar is among the top producers of garlic and onion in the Region and such commodities are prioritized commodities under the PRDP, the Municipality would like to help its farmers to get a bigger profit margin through availing the facilities.

The warehouses has a capacity area of 535.28 cubic meters, wherein 16 square meters are allotted as sorting area, 16 square meters washing area, 16 square meters office area, loading and unloading docks, ventilation system, and bi-folding steel doors. Adjacent to the warehouse is the solar dryer measuring 18 by 4 meters.

The San Jose Multi-Purpose Warehouse with solar dryer is located in the same barangay where the potable water system funded under the PRDP is located.

Vintar has completed three (3) other infrastructure subprojects under the PRDP: Construction of the Salsalamagui Solar Dryer, Construction of Mabanbanag Solar Dryer, and the Rehabilitation of San Jose Potable Water System.

For the Municipality of Alcala in Pangasinan, the low market price and the absence of nearby storage facilities are among the constraints in its onion industry prompting the Municipality to propose for a cold storage.

The Construction of Alcala Cold Storage for Onion is located at Barangay Bersamin, Alcala, Pangasinan. The lot where the facility shall be built is owned by the Municipal Local Government of Alcala, Pangasinan. With a total lot area of 1,934.16 square meters, the estimated subproject cost for the facility is Php85,564,078.51.

Among the features of the cold storage are an office area of 72.04 square meters, an electrical and engineering room with 43.55 square meters, a machine room with 75.6 square meters, a Genset room with 37.8 square meters, and a podium/walkway with 43. 29 square meters. The available cold storage area is 1,661.88 square meters. The facility is expected to be completed within 360 days from the start date of construction.

The proposed cold storage can hold up to 72,000 bags at 29 kilograms each. The storage area is divided into six rooms which can hold 12,000 bags each. Thirteen farmer organizations/cooperatives and 380 individuals farmers are the target beneficiaries of the cold storage facility. Included in the beneficiary cooperatives is the Alcala Onion Growers Multi-Purpose Cooperative which received a regular I-REAP enterprise under the PRDP.

The RPAB-endorsed subprojects will undergo another round of review and evaluation in the cluster and national officer. They are expected to obtain no objection letters before the validity of the PRDP additional financing in August 2020. (Ilocos InfoACE)