By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
A lot of people had been asking what happened to the cold storage in Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet as part of the vegetable cold chain project of the Benguet LGU and the national government. It seemed it is now consigned to the not so hidden cell of white elephants.
Many government projects like this cold storage are bound to fail. Why? Attribute that in large part to bureaucratic procedure being self-implemented by agencies or offices based on national policies. Include in the equation that watchdog named Commission on Audit, and you have a situation that is certainly almost devoid of encouragement for government employees to perform better. Even the best-planned program is not perfect, therefore there are times when problems of urgent nature will arise, that need equally urgent solutions. Our government system at the moment does not allow quick-fix decisions that’s why a lot of projects are not succeeding. Capital investment is wasted.
Because of the above, it is best that government projects like the cold storage should be run like a business, sans stringent government auditing policies or it should be handled by professional business people. Just make sure that those tasked to run the ‘business’ are responsible, accountable, and the venture profitable.
The old cold storage should be revived and as a matter of future survival of the vegetable industry, expanded. Then contract the services of a professional private management firm. An interested private entrepreneur should also be considered. A sharing scheme of the profit shall be decided accordingly, taking into account the recovery of the investment.
Like it or not, there is an increasing demand for agricultural products from the Philippines. Presently, fruits supply are being eyed among others by China, Japan, Singapore and Hongkong. Such fruits include durian, mangosteen, and papaya. These are in addition to the traditional exports of banana, pineapple and mango.
The Cordillera region should cash in on this potential dollar-earning fruits export. For one, fruits are very suitable in the region. Durian, mangosteen, rambutan, marang and other potential exports are now being grown in Benguet, Apayao and Abra. Am sure they are also being grown in smaller scale in the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Mtn. Province. We should now intensify planting those fruit crops in various parts of the region. We have the advantage of being closer to the above-mentioned importing countries.
The country have started exporting durian to China and Japan last year. They want more of such. Other countries are similarly inquiring.
The export was made possible by blast freezing technology. I had the opportunity to visit a privately-owned blast freezer in Davao recently. Davao is the main durian-producing area in the country. The owner, Mr. Candelario Micolob, is the president of the durian producer’s association. He was formerly a corporate accountant. He is now a full-time farmer primarily growing durian. For good measure, he added lanzones, papaya, mangosteen and others.
Mr. Micolob’s blast freezer was sourced out from Taiwan. He got a loan from Landbank to import the freezer. He was helped by the DOST through its small enterprise technology upgrading program (SET-UP). He is now exporting to China. During my visit, I also met the Australian representative in the Philippines of the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research Center. They are making the way for Australia to import durian very soon. Micolob’s facility is also servicing other farmers in the region.
The said facility could be replicated in Cordillera, particularly in Benguet. It could actually be used for vegetables to enable us to go for export in the neighboring Asian countries. It should attract investment and become a source of employment generation.
In the U.S., food legislation requires all foods to be cooled quickly (e.g. through blast freezing), to prevent the build-up of microorganisms that may result in poisoning. That is likely the case with Japan, Australia and other advanced economies.
Blast freezing will keep all qualities of food whole and after defrosting, the original fresh flavor, firmness, color, texture, and nutritional value are retained. There is no loss of liquid as well.
According to Micolob, before China imported durian, the Chinese inspected his facility. The Japanese had also done the same recently, and so with the Singaporeans. What this means is that, if we want to export food products like fresh fruits and vegetables, we should put up facilities like the blast freezing complex. This will allow us to be competitive in the global food export market.
Well, the Letty’s buko pie of Los Banos also used blast freezing enabling the makers of the pie to export to Australia. Calling all CAR LGUs to encourage establishment of the said facility but please let the private sector operate it.**