Local agriculture startup Mayani is advancing two pre-cooling storage facilities in Batangas and Benguet provinces in the Philipines. The aim is to extend the shelf life of vegetables and other produce, thereby reducing post-harvest losses.
Mayani co-founder and CEO JT Solis disclosed that the company secured approximately $1 million in catalytic capital from the Temasek Trust ecosystem for this development. Solis anticipates the pre-cooling facilities to commence operations in the second quarter of this year.
Each facility is designed to store 15 to 20 metric tons of produce, with construction timelines ranging from 45 to 65 days. "The two pre-cooling facilities… we're still constructing it this year but we already have the plan [and] the blueprint," Solis stated during a forum by the University of Asia and the Pacific and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.
These facilities will maintain temperature-controlled conditions for freshly harvested produce, prolonging shelf life until refrigerated vans transport the goods. The Benguet facility will focus on highland vegetables like broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and strawberries, while the Batangas facility will cater to lowland vegetables such as squash, okra, eggplant, and tomatoes. Temperature settings will vary based on the commodity.
Solis emphasized that these facilities aim to rapidly reduce vegetable temperatures post-harvest to prevent farm-level losses. "The objective is to bring down the temperature from 30 to 40 degrees – where the vegetable is already cooking itself – to 4 to 6 degrees," he explained.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations highlights that a third of the world's harvested food is wasted annually, partly due to inadequate cold storage facilities. Solis noted that the facilities will help save produce and increase farmers' income.
Mayani also operates two pre-cooling facilities in Mandaluyong with a total capacity of 50 metric tons.
Source: Inquirer.net