-
A database to map out cold chain service providers and forecast sector supply and demand is being developed
-
Data generated on cold chain service gaps in agriculture and fish production, retail, and logistics will serve as basis for policy formulation and investment drive
-
The pilot project will include Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon, and Camarines Sur
-
Focus will be on meat, fruit, vegetable, dairy, and fisheries producers
The Board of Investments (BOI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), and InsightSCS Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a cold chain integrated supply chain solution for the Philippines.
BOI governor Marjorie Ramos-Samaniego, DENR-EMB director William Cuñado, and InsightSCS chief executive officer Pierre Carlo Curay signed the MOU on February 28.
The MOU kick starts the “Development of a Cold Chain Integrated Supply Chain Solution for Evidence-based Policy-Making and Investment Programming” project.
The project is a database that will map out cold chain service providers, and estimate and forecast sector supply and demand, BOI said in a statement.
It will generate data on present and future cold chain service gap for agriculture and fisheries producers (cooperatives and farmers’ associations), retailers, end-buyers and logistics/delivery service providers as basis for policy formulation and investment promotion.
One of the action plans of the Technical Working Group on Cold Chain Services implemented from the fourth quarter of 2021 until 2022, the project is a collaboration among the newly established National Cold Chain Committee (NC3) headed by BOI, Department of Agriculture and the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines Inc. (CCAP).
NC3 was created pursuant to the Philippine Cold Chain Industry Roadmap, a stakeholder-driven and market-oriented roadmap launched in December 2020.
Samaniego said the project is the first step to establishing an integrated tool to promote investment in the cold chain industry and is a milestone in implementation of the industry roadmap.
She added the project provides the technological capability to identify critical cold chain investment areas.
Under the MOU, the parties agreed to launch the pilot project in Luzon, specifically in the provinces of Benguet, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon and Camarines Sur, focusing on priority commodities such as meats (e.g., livestock and poultry), fruits, vegetables (e.g., onion, potato, carrots), dairy, and fisheries, either fresh or processed.
The MOU beefs up objectives of the Cold Chain Industry Roadmap and the national development programs of government in building food security and resilience, reducing post-harvest losses, and deepening the integration of producers, manufacturers, traders, and retailers, BOI said.
It noted access to refrigeration is crucial to inclusive economic development through a cold chain that links agricultural products of smallholder farmers in rural areas to a wider market, increasing their incomes and raising their quality of life.
Cold chain also ensures the distribution of vaccines, extends shelf life, prevents spoilage and food losses, and ensures availability of buffer stock in times of crisis or disasters, BOI added.
InsightSCS is a software company specializing in logistics solutions supporting end-to-end supply chain visibility. The company, through a grant from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, is also set to develop the DeliverE 2.0: Cold Chain Integrated Supply Chain, a digital platform integrating cold chain processes, allowing real-time monitoring of cold chain assets and stored produce that can be used to forecast supply and demand of cold chain services in the country.
Deliver-E, an end-to-end logistics platform that aims to connect farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises to consumers, was launched in December 2020.
READ: Online delivery platform connects farmers, MSMEs to consumers
BOI will collaborate with InsightSCS in the development of DeliverE 2.0 to produce data, specifically a dashboard of such, that would locate existing cold storage service providers, present current and forecasted demand and supply as well as identify areas with service gaps.
