108 Million Peso Modular Cold Storage Facility Put into Operation in Camarines Norte, Philippines

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, the Philippine Department of Agriculture inaugurated a modular cold storage facility worth 10.8 million pesos in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, primarily serving the local Queen Pineapple (Formosa) industry. The facility uses a 40-foot insulated container structure and is equipped with a hybrid energy supply system consisting of solar panels, wind turbines, and diesel generators, used for temperature-controlled storage of pineapples and other perishable agricultural products. On the same day, the Philippine Department of Agriculture delivered approximately 64 million pesos worth of agricultural production, postharvest handling, and mechanization facilities in Camarines Norte, of which this cold storage facility is one independent postharvest project.

The primary beneficiaries of the cold storage facility are local Queen Pineapple growers in Camarines Norte. According to the Philippine Department of Agriculture, there are currently approximately 1,570 related growers in the province, and the facility can be used not only for storing Queen Pineapples but also for lowland vegetables and other perishable crops. The postharvest stage of Queen Pineapple has high requirements for temperature control and storage conditions. According to materials from the Philippine agricultural research system, Camarines Norte is one of the core production areas for this variety, and the existing industry has long faced problems such as rapid ripening and insufficient postharvest storage capacity.

This investment did not only involve a cold storage facility. In the Labo area, the Philippine Department of Agriculture's National Corn Program simultaneously delivered a feed processing plant worth 10.6 million pesos to the Unlad Magsasaka Mais Sagana Farmers Association, along with transport vehicles and processing equipment; it also provided 2.02 million pesos worth of agricultural production inputs. This batch of facilities covers multiple stages including agricultural product cold storage, feed processing, transportation, and field production.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization under the Philippine Department of Agriculture also provided 14.7 million pesos worth of heavy agricultural machinery during the same period, including 4 four-wheel-drive tractors and 4 rice combine harvesters. Rice farmers in Labo and Vinzons also received 23 million pesos worth of hybrid rice seeds and fertilizers; another 450,000 pesos was invested in high-value vegetable production.

Agricultural waste treatment equipment was also included in this delivery. The Philippine Soil and Water Resources Management Bureau provided the local area with two biodegradable waste composting facilities and one solar energy system, with a total value of 2.23 million pesos, used for agricultural organic waste treatment and the production of soil improvement materials. Thus, this round of 64 million pesos in investment covers multiple specific facility categories: "production inputs—mechanization—processing—cold storage—waste treatment."

Queen Pineapple is currently an important specialty agricultural product of Camarines Norte. According to Philippine agricultural research materials, this variety is mainly cultivated in areas such as Basud, San Lorenzo Ruiz, San Vicente, Labo, and Daet, and Camarines Norte has long been the main Queen Pineapple production area in the Bicol region. The Vinzons modular cold storage facility that has now been put into operation has entered the stage of actual use, and the focus of subsequent operations will shift to cold storage utilization rate, the scope of farmer coverage, and integration with local processing and transportation systems.