P400-M veggie trading post to rise in Trinidad

By Adam Borja

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday and witnessed the ceremonial launching of a P400-million worth modern agricultural trading center here in Barangay Betag.

Dubbed the most modern trading post in the country, the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center situated in four-hectares of the former La Trinidad strawberry fields owned by the Benguet State University, will play a vital pilot role in the country’s integrated supply chain being pushed by the Department of Agriculture.

The new vegetable trading post will house spot trading areas, warehousing and cold storage, commercial areas like cafeterias, lounges, dormitories, banks and cooperative offices, parking, administrative offices, and other ancillary support facilities.

Its trading facilities are aimed at increasing vegetable farmers’ income while protecting them from market price fluctuations, and contribute to decongestion of the booming municipality considered to be the Salad Bowl of the Philippines.

Its production facilities encourage minimum processing of vegetable products with the use of modern cold storage technologies but also provide for further processing to meet export demands and handling of excess produce and spoilage.

Full processing in the new trading post will result in the production of starch, chips, strings, and pastes, while minimal processing will cover cleaning, sorting, slicing and packing.

A study conducted by the Development Academy of the Philippines revealed that the old La Trinidad vegetable trading post established in 1984 has proven to be inadequate, contributes to traffic congestion, and is only 70 percent effective as it leads to 30 percent waste.

The new and expanded trading post will serve over 1,000 highland farmers selling vegetables, root crops, and fruits.

Alcala said the project will be funded jointly by the national government, in partnership with the local government unit under Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan and Rep. Ronald Cosalan, and La Trinidad Mayor Greg Abalos, with a sharing scheme with foreign investors.

He said a Korean business group has already committed to spend US $2.5 million for the processing plant of the new vegetable trading post.

He added profits of the services in the facility will be shared among the local government, the national government, Benguet State University, farmers’ cooperatives, and the investors.

Alcala also cited role of farmers and their cooperatives in the success of the undertaking.

He also ceremonially turned over around P600,000 to the local government of Benguet representing the first tranche of payments to affected strawberry farmers, saying they can still continue their farming activities despite on-going construction.

BSU President Rogelio Colting admitted they are still looking for a feasible relocation site for affected strawberry farmers but said impact of the project to the province’s strawberry production will be minimal.

Gov. Fongwan said production of strawberries, the municipality’s One-Town-One-Product item, will be affected in the short term, but said development entails some form of sacrifice from affected stakeholders.

He cited the feasibility of relocating strawberry farmers to Shilan, La Trinidad, but also cited need to experiment with better strawberry varieties if the goal was to supply a year-long demand.

Alcala revealed the DA plans to establish similar trading posts in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Visayas, Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, and Iloilo.

These trading posts, he said, will be complementary to each other and shall work in an integrated system for food security purposes and to prepare the country for the impending negative impacts of the World Trade Organization-Americas Free Trade Area (WTO-AFTA) agreements by 2015.