Pangasinan gets agri trading center
The Department of Agriculture (DA) inaugurated a P60-million agricultural trading center in Pangasinan province, hoping to equip farmers and agricultural cooperatives with technologies and entrepreneurial skills.
Funded by the Enhanced KADIWA Inclusive Food Supply Chain Program, the agricultural trading center is situated on an 8,000-square-meter lot in Rosales town, the DA said in a statement.
“This initiative will not only boost farmers’ productivity but also create new income opportunities and foster job creation throughout the supply chain in Rosales and surrounding areas,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
According to the DA, the center will also feature a training facility designed to introduce farmers to new technologies and teach them how to become successful agricultural entrepreneurs.
“The Rosales Agricultural Trading Center aims to address these issues by providing farmers with a direct market for their bulk produce, eliminating unnecessary middlemen, and ultimately increasing their profitability,” it said.
The hub will serve as a prototype for similar facilities that the agency seeks to build in other parts of Pangasinan.
Tiu Laurel also unveiled the DA’s plan to construct a solar-powered cold storage facility next to the Rosales trading hub, designed to prolong the shelf life of fresh produce, particularly high-value crops, along with a rice drying facility.
Furthermore, a mobile soil laboratory will rise in July to test soil conditions across the province.
