The Department of Agriculture seeks the approval of its budget request to build the Cold Examination Facility in Agriculture to ensure food safety and security.
The DA allocated P2.3 billion for CEFA which would include sites in Subic, Zambales, Batangas, Cebu and Davao in collaboration with other government agencies like the Philippine Ports Authority.
CEFA is a state-of-the-art examination facility of all imported animal, fish, plant and other agricultural commodities.
The construction of the facility is essential to the DA’s goal to strengthen the country’s capability to conduct first border inspections and improve its examination of containerized agricultural commodities. It also seeks to prevent proliferation of agricultural smuggling.
The DA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pacific Roadlink Logistics Inc. on July 20, 2023 for the construction of the first CEFA within its container terminal area in Angat, Bulacan.
The Bulacan site was considered by the DA after a series of consultation with private agriculture stakeholders such as the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura and the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc.
PRLI donated a 10-hectare land of its Angat property for CEFA’s construction and operation, meeting the department’s specifications and guidelines set for facilities like staging, incinerators, container yards and truck parking.
Under the agreement, the department can use the land for 25 years, with 2,000 square meters designated for examination and laboratory purposes at no cost to the government. PRLI will be responsible for maintaining the facility.
Meanwhile, the risk assessment categorization of all imported agri-fishery will be operated by the DA’s food safety and regulatory agencies composed of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Meat Inspection Service.
The facility would initially function as a 24-hour off-dock custom facility to handle agricultural importations from the country’s two main ports—the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Port.
All imported agricultural products will be forwarded to the CEFA to undergo thorough examination, especially those from countries with disease outbreaks, unaccredited importers, misdeclared goods, smuggled items or other regulatory concerns.
Products categorized as medium-risk will undergo a 30 percent sample collection and analysis, while low-risk products will undergo a 10-percent sample collection and analysis.
