Some 500 garlic farmers in Vintar, Ilocos Norte are among the first beneficiaries of a newly opened multi-purpose warehouse with solar dryer in Barangay San Jose that is seen to improve productivity and reduce post-harvest losses.

In an interview, Vintar municipal agriculturist Maricel Serrano said “full utilization” of the warehouse is expected early next year, in time for the harvest season.

“Most of our farmers are now preparing their farm lots for the planting season this coming November,” Serrano told the Philippine News Agency. “The expected harvest is by February next year.”

According to the project brief, the warehouse is expected to increase the length of viability of produce by at least 50 percent, and decrease post-harvest losses by five percent.

Worth PHP11.4 million, the warehouse project was funded through a collaboration between the World Bank, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the local government unit of Vintar.

The project is part of the Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up, a program designed to support the country’s agriculture and fisheries sectors to become more modern, resilient, and market-oriented.

Serrano said other farm commodities even from nearby barangays may also be stored in the warehouse for a minimal fee.

By having a structurally safe storage and dryer not only for garlic but also for rice, peanut, onion and corn during the harvest season, the DA estimates that farmers will be able to increase their selling price by 17.42 percent to 127.27 percent.

The 128-square-meter warehouse with 432-square-meter solar dryer was inaugurated and turned over to the local government unit of Vintar on Oct. 15, 2025.

“The warehouse is beneficial to our farmers by ensuring quality storage of their produce. With the solar dryer, our farmers will no longer use road shoulders of highways to dry their produce, reducing post-harvest losses,” Vintar Mayor Richard Degala said during the turnover ceremony. (PNA)