A solar-powered seed warehouse with cold storage and acclimatization rooms is now ready to provide rice farmers with quality seeds to boost food security.

The 450-square-meter warehouse, located at the compound of the National Tobacco Administration and PhilRice in Barangay Tabug in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, was inaugurated on Wednesday.

In her speech during the inauguration ceremony, PhilRice-Batac director Dr. Mary Ann Baradi said the warehouse “represents a critical addition to the station’s infrastructure, complementing the first seed warehouse funded by the DA (Department of Agriculture) Regional Field Office 1 in 2022-2023.”

“With these facilities, we are enhancing our capacity to store and preserve seeds, ensuring that the best quality rice seeds are available to our farmers —particularly as we face the challenges posed by climate change and other factors,” she added.

The warehouse project, worth PHP17.98 million, was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea.

Baradi described the warehouse as a significant milestone on the continuing partnership between the governments of Korea and the Philippines to enhance the country’s agricultural infrastructure and bolster food security.

With an accessible warehouse with cold storage for seeds, Baradi said farmers need not go far to avail of quality rice seeds to improve their production.

According to the briefer, the project was initially conceptualized in 2019 but faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It passed through rigid assessment and deliberation, including a feasibility study and social and environmental assessment, to determine its merits and viability.

Present during the inauguration were officials from the city and provincial government, Philippine Supply Chain Project of the Global Policy Institute, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, National Tobacco Administration, and Mariano Marcos State University. (PNA)