The Department of Agriculture (DA) rolled out P64 million worth of farm support and post-harvest investments in Camarines Norte, targeting bottlenecks in production, storage, processing and mechanization.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the turnover of the interventions in Vinzons and Labo, alongside the DA Regional Field Office 5 and the provincial government headed by Governor Dong Padilla.
In the coastal town of Vinzons, Tiu Laurel and Padilla inaugurated a P10.8 million modular cold storage facility designed to support the province’s iconic Formosa, or Queen, pineapple industry.
The 40-foot insulated facility runs on a hybrid power system combining solar panels, a wind turbine and a diesel generator.
The 40-foot insulated facility runs on a hybrid power system combining solar panels, a wind turbine and a diesel generator. It is intended to help growers preserve the quality and extend the marketability of Queen Pineapples, a globally acknowledged tropical fruit for its taste and quality.
“This temperature-controlled storage facility will help safeguard the Queen, the pineapple variety prized worldwide for its crisp texture, aromatic sweetness and distinctive reddish margins, and produced by some 1,570 growers in Camarines Norte,” Tiu Laurel said.
“This temperature-controlled storage facility will help safeguard the Queen.”
Beyond Queen Pineapple, the cold storage facility can also serve other major agricultural commodities in the province, including lowland vegetables and other highly perishable crops. This will provide farmers and producers with an additional option for proper postharvest handling, helping maintain product quality, reduce spoilage and extend the marketability of their produce.
Over at the landlocked town of Labo, the DA’s National Corn Program turned over a P10.6 million feed mill facility, a hauling truck, and processing equipment to the Unlad Magsasaka Mais Sagana Farmers Association. The agency also provided P2.02 million worth of farm inputs.
Rice farmers in Labo and Vinzons meantime, received another P23 million worth of hybrid palay seeds and fertilizers for the dry season.
The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), for its part, provided P14. 7 million worth of heavy farm machinery, including four four-wheel-drive tractors and four rice combine harvesters.
The DA also extended P450,000 worth of assistance for high-value vegetable production in Labo and Vinzons.
The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) provided two Composting Facilities for Biodegradable Wastes (CFBW) and one Solar Set, worth P2.23 million, to promote proper waste management and the production of organic soil amendments.
Tiu Laurel said investments in post-harvest facilities and farm mechanization are intended to reduce losses, improve farm efficiency and support more sustainable income growth for farmers while strengthening Camarines Norte’s agricultural economy.
