BENGUET government and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) have put down P3.5 million for improvements to the existing Benguet Cold Chain in Wangal as the Board of Investments (BOI) is making moves to establish a supply chain between the country’s various cold chain facilities.
The P3.5m upgrade is for the development of a vegetable processing facility at the cold chain, which aims to upgrade the capability of the facility to deliver fresh and semi-processed agricultural products with a focus on packaging and logistics.
Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas said that the upgrade will add value to product and allow farmers to learn value-added production.
Diclas added that another P2.7 million-improvement project is currently ongoing at the “Bagsakan Area” of the cold chain.
Upon the completion of the project that is expected to start this year, DOST will provide the necessary equipment and facilities to be installed and used for the operation of the vegetable processing facility.
Meanwhile, the BOI has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Environmental Management Bureau and InsightSCS Corp for the creation of a database mapping out existing cold chain services in the country to estimate supply and demand for cold chain services.
The project is expected to generate data on cold chain service gaps for agriculture and fishery producers, retailers, end-buyers, and logistics and delivery service providers to use as a basis when deciding what products to invest in.
Under the memorandum, the three parties agreed to launch the pilot project in Luzon, specifically in Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon and Camarines Sur.
