The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to construct two mega food hubs in 2026 as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to expand access to high-quality, affordable goods to Filipinos.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, March 26, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said this project was part of the agency’s presentation before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. yesterday.

“Yesterday we were in Malacañan and the President initially agreed on these concepts,” said De Mesa, also the DA’s spokesperson.

He noted that this project was partly inspired by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel’s recent visit to Thailand, which houses food hubs spanning up to 80 hectares.

De Mesa said that Thai food hubs serve as venues for farmers to sell their produce, featuring cold storage facilities and other postharvest infrastructure that help extend shelf life.

Under the DA’s plan, the first food hub will be constructed in Clark, Pampanga—on a property spanning 30 to 50 hectares—serving as a trading center for agricultural produce from Northern Luzon.

Meanwhile, the second will be located in Quezon province—covering around 20 to 30 hectares—catering goods from Southern Luzon and the Bicol region.

The two facilities have an estimated cost of ₱3 billion to ₱7 billion.

De Mesa said the construction will most likely begin early next year, with the funding source still under discussion.

State-owned corporation Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) will handle the operations of the facilities.

Certain “strategic locations” across Visayas and Mindanao are also being considered for such food hubs.

“If you have this kind of facilities… may sistema na magsasabi na ito yung mga presyuhan na hindi maapektuhan ‘yung mga magsasaka, at ‘yung consumer din ay hindi makakaranas ng sobrang mahal o sobrang kulang ng produkto,” said De Mesa.

(If you have these kinds of facilities, there will be a system that determines the pricing in a way that farmers won’t be affected, and consumers won’t experience excessively high prices or a shortage of products.)

The official added that this could be the long-term solution to address the long-running “disconnect” between farmgate and retail prices.

Based on the Facebook post of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the DA also told the President its plan for a cold storage expansion project.

This aligns with the DA’s plan to allocate around ₱3 billion for the construction of approximately 99 cold storage facilities across the country. Not only will this help extend the shelf life of key produce, it will also ensure supply and price stability.