The Philippine government has opened a P10.8-million modular cold storage facility in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, to help protect the province’s pineapple industry from post-harvest losses and improve the marketability of locally grown fruit.
The facility, inaugurated on Sept. 28, is designed to support the province’s Formosa, or Queen, pineapple industry, which is made up of about 1,570 growers. The temperature-controlled storage system is intended to preserve the quality of harvested pineapples and give farmers more flexibility in bringing their produce to market.
The 40-foot insulated facility operates using a hybrid power system that combines solar panels, a wind turbine and a diesel generator. Beyond pineapples, it can also accommodate other perishable agricultural products, including lowland vegetables.
The additional storage capacity is expected to help farmers reduce spoilage, maintain product quality and extend the period during which their produce can be sold. This is particularly important for highly perishable crops, where inadequate post-harvest facilities can result in losses even after successful harvests.
The cold storage project forms part of a broader P64-million package of agricultural assistance deployed in Camarines Norte. The support also covers farm machinery, processing equipment, agricultural inputs and other post-harvest interventions aimed at improving productivity and reducing losses.
In Labo, farmers received a P10.6-million feed mill, hauling truck and processing equipment, along with P2.02 million worth of farm inputs. Rice farmers in Labo and Vinzons were also provided P23 million worth of hybrid rice seeds and fertilizers for the dry season.
The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization also provided P14.7 million worth of machinery, including four four-wheel-drive tractors and four rice combine harvesters. Additional assistance included P450,000 for high-value vegetable production and P2.23 million worth of composting facilities and a solar set.
Agriculture officials said the investments are intended to address bottlenecks across production, storage, processing and mechanization. For Camarines Norte’s pineapple growers, the new cold storage facility provides additional infrastructure to manage harvested fruit and potentially reduce losses before products reach consumers.
The project adds to efforts to strengthen the province’s agricultural economy by giving farmers access to facilities that can improve post-harvest handling while supporting more sustainable farm income.
