The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) are teaming up to develop what they tout as the country’s first agro-industrial business corridor as well as a technopark for crop seeds at Clarkfield in Pampanga, with an initial funding of P285 million.
For this purpose, Agriculture Secretary William Dar and BCDA president and chief executive Vivencio Dizon signed last Dec. 18 a memorandum of agreement related to the projects, dubbed New Clark City Agro-Industrial Business Corridor (ABC) and National Seed Technology Park (NSTP).
“We envision NSTP to be the core base for the country’s modern crop industry, one that will take us one step toward industrialization and modernization of the agriculture industry,” Dar said in a statement.
“When properly planned, supported, and funded,” the ABC-NSTP initiative would enable the agriculture sector to unleash its potential as a major pillar of the economy, he added.
The seed technopark would be the first to rise on the planned 50-hectare ABC, located at The New Clark City.
The NSTP’s first phase features a seven-hectare portion that would house a seed laboratory, incubation hubs, a machinery shed, soil and water chemistry laboratory and other support facilities.
Based on the agreement, BCDA is committed to develop the second phase, which would cover the remaining 43 hectares and would be devoted to the initiative’s commercial side. INQ