Mayani to put up 2 more cooling facilities for vegetables

Mayani co-founder and CEO JT Solis. Photo by Jordeene B. Lagare

MANILA, Philippines – Local agriculture startup Mayani is developing two pre-cooling storage facilities in Batangas and Benguet provinces to extend the shelf life of vegetables and other produce while reducing post-harvest losses.

In a recent interview, Mayani co-founder and CEO JT Solis said the firm had unlocked some $1 million (or approximately P57.28 million) through the catalytic capital from the Temasek Trust ecosystem to develop these facilities.

Solis said Mayani planned to begin operations of its pre-cooling facilities within the second quarter of this year.

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Each facility can store 15 to 20 metric tons of produce, with the construction expected to be completed in about 45 to 65 days.

“The two pre-cooling facilities… we’re still constructing it this year but we already have the plan [and] the blueprint,” Solis said on the sidelines of a forum organized by the University of Asia and the Pacific and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.

Pre-cooling facilities are designed to store freshly harvested fruits, vegetables and other produce in temperature-controlled conditions from the farm to the market, prolonging their shelf life until refrigerated vans arrive to transport high-quality goods.

The first pre-cooling facility in Benguet will store highland vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and cabbage as well as strawberry, while the second one in Batangas will cater to lowland vegetables including squash, okra and egpplant along with tomatoes.

Temperature settings of pre-cooling facilities vary depending on the commodity.

According to Solis, these pre-cooling facilities are not meant for storage, but to immediately bring down the temperature of the vegetables after harvest to prevent losses at the farm level.

“The objective is to bring down the temperature from 30 to 40 degrees – where the vegetable is already cooking itself – to 4 to 6 degrees,” he told reporters.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about a third of the world’s harvested food is wasted or lost after harvest annually, and one of the reasons is the lack of cold storage facilities that can prolong their shelf life.

Solis noted that the volume of agricultural produce saved through these facilities will provide additional income for farmers.

Mayani already has two pre-cooling storage facilities located in Mandaluyong with a combined capacity of 50 metric tons.