Ecija onion farmers get storage facilities

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture has turned over two onion cold storage facilities to the DA-Central Luzon office in Nueva Ecija.

Each facility is capable of storing 20,000 bags or about 540,000 kilos of onions, and will help farmers preserve their produce, according to AB David, DA-Central Luzon high-value crops development program coordinator.

“With these post-harvest facilities,  onion farmers will now have areas to store their produce. These will also ensure a stable supply of onions, especially during the close cropping season. Cropping season for onion occurs only once a year,” David said.

Onions stored in a regular facility can last up to three months. But if these are kept in cold storage facilities, these can last from six to eight months for red, and four to six months for yellow onions.

The facilities will also help farmers  to properly program and market their produce at competitive prices to avoid losses.

David said the facilities, each worth P38.07 million, will serve around 122 farmer-members of the San Vicente Alintutuan Irrigators Association in Laur, and 71 members of the Calancuasan Sur Farmers Association in Cuyapo.

“The construction of these onion cold storage facilities did not cost farmer-beneficiaries anything. Their contribution is the land or site where the facility was built,” David said.

The DA is set to build two more similar facilities in Palayan and Gabaldon.