City of San Fernando, PAMPANGA – With a unanimous decision, the members of the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) approved the proposed onion cold storage facility worth P124,562,353 in the province of Nueva Ecija during the RPAB deliberation and approval held at the DA Conference Room on February 9, 2022.

The RPAB meeting was presided by Regional Project Coordination Office (DA-RPCO 3) Regional Project Director Dr. Eduardo L. Lapuz Jr. together with RPCO 3 Action Officer Maricel Dullas, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Engineer Russell Benedict Gotiangco, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Officer-In-Charge Provincial Director Dr. Richard Simangan, Regional Agriculture and Fishery Council (RAFC) Chairman Engr. Francisco Hernandez and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Assistant Regional Director for Management Services Arturo Fadriguela.

The Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija (KASAMNE) Manager Arnel Llamas presented the profile and technical aspect of the business plan which aims to allow small-scale farmers to gain access to the cold storage facility without having to pay an upfront reservation fee.

Also, the proposed enterprise entitled Onion Cold Storage Facility and Marketing Enterprise intend to address the constraints identified in the Value Chain Analysis (VCA) of Onion which is the lack of post-harvest facilities to help preserve the quality of onions and eventually increase the profit of farmers.

With this, RPAB members gave some comments and recommendations that are to be incorporated into the business plan.

Considering that the business plan is technically feasible and financially viable, the RPAB members approved the proposed project for the issuance of No Objection Letter 1 (NOL 1) by the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO).

-By: Ma. Reina Len Luna, InfoACE