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The Department of Agriculture inaugurated a P43-million onion cold storage facility in Santa Maria, Dupax Del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, the third in Cagayan Valley to support onion farmers
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The facility can store 20,000 bags (500 metric tons) of onions, helping reduce post-harvest losses while ensuring stable market prices
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During the launch, agriculture officials highlighted the government’s long-term support for the onion industry, with a total investment of P283 million since 2021 to boost production and sustainability
The Department of Agriculture-High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP) recently inaugurated a P43-million onion cold storage facility in Santa Maria, Dupax Del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya.
The facility, the third of its kind in Cagayan Valley, can store 20,000 bags (500 metric tons) of onions, covering at least 30 hectares and providing at least 172 farmers with efficient post-harvest storage, DA said in a statement.
The DA Regional Field Office No. 02 said the investment aligns with the government’s push for agricultural modernization, “increasing production, and ensuring sustainability through strategic policy development, technical assistance, and resource allocation.”
During the inauguration, Carol Albay, DA-HVCDP and NUPAP (National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program) focal person, emphasized the collaborative effort behind the project, noting that P283 million has been invested in Region 2’s (Cagayan Valley) onion industry since 2021. She added that a fourth facility is currently being built in Isabela.
She highlighted the region’s increasing onion sufficiency, which has grown from 61% in 2021 to 159% today. “While we previously relied on neighboring regions, we have now surpassed sufficiency levels through Rice + Onion Technology and DA-led investments,” Albay said.
Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Caballero of DA-HVCDP stressed the importance of market connectivity and onion clustering approaches to ensure sustainable pricing and industry growth.
“This project – the onion cold storage and the distribution of agricultural inputs – is an example of clustering. When we say clustering, it is the combination of production, like this cold storage. In the future, there will also be processing for onion,” she said.
