More cold storage, Marcos assures farmers, fisherfolks

MORE NEEDED This file photo shows a recently completed cold storage facility, more of which are needed across the country.

SAN JOSE, OCCIDENTAL MINDORO, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that the government is planning to put up more cold storage facilities to address the unstable prices of agricultural products.

During a town hall meeting with farmers and fisherfolks in Occidental Mindoro, Marcos was asked about government measures to help local producers amid importation.

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“The problem here is overproduction, which causes the prices of your products to go down. We could manage this by building more cold storage facilities so you could also minimize post-harvest losses [of agricultural products] due to overproduction. But with cold storage, electricity bill becomes your next problem. This is where solar power could help in bringing down electricity cost,” Marcos replied.

The government itself has imported onions and rice in a bid to curb the rampant prices of agricultural products.

During the situation briefing on the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on the province, Agriculture Secretary Jose Tiu Laurel said that the government plans to establish two solar powered cold storage facilities in the province by 2025.

The El Niño phenomenon has already caused P1.2 billion worth of agricultural loss nationwide, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.