The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday signed a landmark agreement with publicly-listed Megawide Construction Corp. to develop integrated agricultural infrastructure projects aimed at boosting farmers’ incomes, reducing post-harvest losses, and strengthening the country’s long-term food security.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) aligns with Republic Act No. 7900 and forms part of the government’s broader push to modernize the high-value crops sector through infrastructure-led and market-driven interventions, farm to wholesale food markets and, protected farming under agro-solar environments.
Under the deal, Megawide will support the rollout of agro-solar farming systems that integrate crop production with renewable energy generation. The partnership also covers the construction of food-processing facilities and the establishment of food terminals designed to improve logistics, storage, and distribution efficiency across agricultural value chains.
In a parallel development, the DA also advanced a separate MOU initiative with the National Power Corp. and Asian Pyrochem Technologies Inc. for “Project SAFE” (Sustainable Agroforestry Farming Enterprise), which will be implemented in watershed areas.
Project SAFE promotes agroforestry production of crops such as cacao, coffee, bamboo, and abaca while integrating carbon financing mechanisms and nature-based solutions. It also introduces innovative business-to-business barter systems aimed at improving farmers’ access to inputs and markets. ### (Photos by Darrel Gultia)
