DA to put up 3 brgy food terminals here

The Department of Agriculture will put up three regional Barangay Food Terminals and a cold storage facility in Cebu to expand access to cheaper but premium quality farm and fishery products.

DA regional director Eduardo Lecciones said Cebu is among the 28 areas identified, across the country, to have regional barangay food terminals by December.

He said three BFTs will be put up in Cebu of the 48 to be established this year nationwide. Also, a cold storage facility worth P1 million will be put up at the North Reclamation Area.

The 48 BFTs will augment the 13 facilities already operational in urban poor communities in Metro Manila.

Lecciones also said that the setting up of BFTs and the cold storage facility is “part of an overall program that will involve provisions of special routes as food lanes and the use of cold storage facilities in strategic locations to better preserve perishable farm produce.”

Cold storage facilities will store vegetables and fruits not accommodated in supermarkets, bagsakan centers, or in various wet markets in the city.

DA Secretary Arthur Yap estimated that some 61,144 families or more than 300,000 people will benefit from these regional barangay food terminals.

Of the 48, La Union is also set to put up three food terminals as well as Bulacan. There will also be one in Cavite and two in Laguna; two in Oriental Mindoro and one in Romblon; two in Iloilo and one in Antique; three in Leyte, two in Samar and one in Biliran; three in Zamboanga del Norte and one in Davao del Norte. — Ferliza C. Contratista/MEEV