The Department of Agriculture (DA) said an over 30-hectare site in Tiaong, Quezon will be developed and operated as a food hub by state-run Food Terminal, Inc. (FTI), under a 25-year usufruct granted by the agency.

The arrangement tasks FTI with overseeing logistics and market access for agricultural and fishery products to be landed at the food hub, while ownership of the 30 hectares remains with the DA. The site forms part of a 49-hectare facility administered by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), which is currently used as the Quezon Agricultural Research and Experiment Station.

"The arrangement puts an underutilized government property in Tiaong, Quezon, to work for food security without transferring ownership to FTI," Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

Under the agreement, FTI will own and operate the food hub and absorb the cost of developing and maintaining it. Planned facilities include cold storage for crop and aquatic commodities, meat, and other agri-fishery products, along with wholesale trading, processing, logistics, and distribution infrastructure. Cold storage of this kind is meant to slow spoilage of perishable goods between harvest and market, while trading and processing floors allow produce landed from many farms and fishing grounds to be aggregated and dispatched in volume — the core functions through which a food hub links dispersed producers with urban demand.

The DA said FTI's mandate is to "help stabilize prices of basic commodities and ensure continuous food supply through the procurement, processing, and distribution of farm and marine products."

FTI will also provide the BPI with P12 million annually as institutional support, either in cash or through approved development facilities or technical support.

"It will accelerate the development of the mega food hub as a place where farmers, fisherfolk, suppliers, traders and consumers can connect, move food more efficiently, and meet their needs," Mr. Laurel said.

FTI is a government food logistics corporation attached to the DA, historically centered on the Food Terminal Complex in Taguig. Tiaong is a municipality in Quezon province, south of Manila. A usufruct grants rights to use and operate government property for a set period without transferring title. The announcement did not specify a construction timeline, total development cost, or phasing for the planned facilities.

— Maria Mikaela H. Tormon, BusinessWorld