The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PhilMech) has identified four provinces that will be given onion storage facilities as part of the government’s thrust to reduce postharvest losses in high value commercial crops. The Project is under the Department of Agriculture-High Value Crops Development Program (DA-HVCDP), one of the priority projects of Agriculture Secretrary Proceso Alcala.
DA-PhilMech Executive Director Ricardo L. Cachuela said the storage facilities for onion will be located in Nueva Ecija, Mindoro , Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, which are major onion producers and have provinces beside or nearby that also produce the crop in abundance.
“Onion is one of the cash crops for farmers in areas like Region 1 and 3 and Region 4B, but farmers could earn more from onion if we are able to reduce postharvest losses from around 20% to 25%,” Cachuela said.
The facility holds loosely stored onions in bulk or bags in a shed structure with good ambient air circulation with cool and dry storage conditions Too much heat or moisture can shorten the shelf life of onion. The onion hanger facility is a two storey structure that cost P1.5M each.
Each facility can store between 2,000 to 3,000 bags of onion.
Based on the survey of PhilMech, onion is among the agricultural commodities that are stored in the country’s cold chain system along with lettuce, broccoli, meat and tuna.
PhilMech is finalizing the financial plan for the four onion storage facilities, with the aim of tapping the cooperation of farmer cooperatives, private sector and local governments, among others.
After the four onion storage facilities are established, PhilMech will identify more provinces that can host similar facilities.
Cachuela said that the establishment of the onion storage facilities can reduce postharvest loses of the crop to as low as 5%, and will allow farmer and cooperatives to store their onions properly.
The reason why onion farmers cannot sell their produce at a higher price is the absence of proper storage facilities. Once in place, the onion storage facilities could also help farmers seek buyers who could pay them better prices since they could store their onions properly.
Under proper storage conditions with the right temperature, onions can be stored from six to eight months.
DA-PhilMech hopes to establish the onion cold storage facilities this year. DA-PhilMech Communications Team
The 5 different storage systems to dry cure and store onions, potatoes, carrots and other crops are:
1.Box storage with lateral ventilation,
2.Bin storage with lateral ventilation and climate control,
3.Bulk storage,
4.Box storage with pressurized ventilation,
5.Box storage with suction ventilation.
For more: http://www.mechanizationfightsinflation.com/storage/storage-systems.php