PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – This province, a major producer of onion, will shortly have another onion cold storage facility that could help prolong the shelf life of the commodity. The groundbreaking rites for the facility was recently held in Barangay San Vicente, Laur town.
Agriculture and local officials led the groundbreaking rites. The project which will benefit members of the San Vicente Alintutuan Irrigators Association under the High-Value Crop Development Program of the Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the provincial government of Nueva Ecija.
The Laur facility compliments a similar onion cold storage in this province that also broke ground recently, located in Cuyapo town and will benefit members of the Calancuasan Sur Farmers Association.
Nueva Ecija Provincial Bernie Valdez said the construction of the onion cold storage is in response to the call of the farmers who are often forced to sell their produce even at bargain prices due to a lack of such post-harvest facility.
“We know that onions need to have more cold storage facilities in the province where farmers can bring their produce. That is one of the main complaints of onion farmers. Our provincial government does not stop supporting this kind of program by the Department of Agriculture,” Valdez told media.
DA-Central Luzon Regional Executive Director Crispulo Bautista Jr. earlier assured their agency would continue to build onion cold storage facilities to address post-harvest problems of ueva Ecija onion growers.
Cold storage prolongs the shelf life of onions by up to seven months and prevents the crops from rotting early.