DAVAO CITY—The Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Davao City government is set to open the P70-million Davao Food Terminal by first quarter next year.
Davao Regional Director Ricardo Oñate said the food terminal located at a five-hectare property in Daliao, Toril (formerly the Agri-Pinoy Trading Center) will serve as drop-off and wholesale market of farm products.
It will provide marketing support for small and medium farm-size vegetable and fruit growers in various barangays here in Davao City and Davao del Sur.
The facility also has a dormitory, retail and wholesale sections and commercial spaces.
He said the facility is a progressive type complex which will be managed by the city government. But he said the food terminal will be eventually managed by a farmers’ cooperative.
Other components of the project are 10 hauling trucks to transport farm produce from farm to the food terminal. Each truck would cost P1.5 milion.
“We are optimistic that there will be a big improvement in the agricultural production with new direction and processes of implementation of projects,” Oñate added.
As one of the city government of Davao’s thrusts for the sector of agriculture, the Davao Food Terminal is projected to be operational by April 2017, he said.
He explained that the farmers could make use of the functional area of the five-hectare food terminal to bring and to sell their produce until such time that the facility could be fully utilized.
According to Oñate, the city government will manage the terminal until it becomes self-sustaining in the hands of the farmers’ cooperatives.
The regional director identified the cooperatives coming from Bansalan, Kapatagan and Davao Occidental as some of the cooperatives that will benefit from the facility.
He added that he DA will serve as the middleman through a task force composed of the marketing department of DA-XI to monitor the quality of the farmers’ produce and to regulate their price.
“Wala na tayong middleman because middlemen only increase the farmers’ expenses,” said the regional director.
Oñate also said that 10 hauling trucks worth P1.5 billion will be sold to the cooperatives to transport their produce.
According to the regional director, the Davao Food Terminal, now 30 percent to completion, is part of the 25-hectare Davao Food Exchange Complex that will be developed by the local government in the next two years with an allocated budget of P320 million, where P70 million is provided by the Department of Agriculture.
