THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has opened a P60-million agriculture trading center in Rosales, Pangasinan that will further integrate farmers into the supply chain for the government’s network of subsidized stores.
The Rosales Agricultural Trading Center, funded through the Enhanced KADIWA Inclusive Food Supply Chain Program, will also feature a training facility designed to introduce farmers to new technologies and agricultural entrepreneurship.
“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,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement.
The trading center is built on an 8,000-square-meter lot donated by Rep. Robert Raymund Estrella. The project started in November 2023 and was developed in cooperation with the Rosales municipal government.
The trading hub will serve as a pilot for similar facilities that the Department of Agriculture plans to establish in other parts of Pangasinan.
Meanwhile, the DA said it also plans to build a solar-powered cold storage facility next to the Rosales trading hub, with the intent of extending the shelf life of fresh produce, particularly high-value crops.
There are also plans to construct a rice drying facility in Rosales, it added.
The DA said a mobile soil laboratory will be deployed to Pangasinan in July to test soil conditions.
“This initiative aims to determine the best use of the land and identify the necessary inputs to optimize farm yields and boost farmers’ incomes,” it said.
Farmers in the area are reporting challenges like access to credit, cost of farm inputs, and low selling prices, according to the DA.
“In addition, traders exploit the lack of an efficient marketing system, inadequate infrastructure, financial limitations, and inconsistent policies,” it noted.
Pangasinan is among the top 10 in rice production. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
