A PHP30-million cold storage facility will rise in this Ilocos Norte capital, eyed to reduce the fish spoilage rate.

Vanessa Abegail Dagdagan, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Ilocos Region (BFAR-1) senior aquaculturist, told the Philippine News Agency on Friday that the two-tonnage facility funded by the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) will benefit some 8,500 fisherfolk, farmers, and traders.

Construction at the Ilocos Norte Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Center will start this week and is expected to be completed in three months.

“The cold storage facility hopes to address post-harvest losses, thereby increasing the income of those in the agricultural sector,” Dagdagan said.

She said the facility will cater not just to fisherfolk from Ilocos Norte but also to other perishable goods and value-adding products in the agriculture and livestock industry.

According to BFAR, the level of spoilage rate (25 to 40 percent) in the province is relatively high because of lack of post-harvest equipment like blast freezers, ice-making machines, and facilities like cold storage warehouses and fish landing sites.

Thus, the provincial government is also encouraging fishers to process their products into value-adding items, not just fresh catch.

Aside from Laoag, another cold storage facility will also be erected in Pagudpud town. (PNA)