THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting to launch the P4-billion mega food hub in Clark, Pampanga, before end-2027 to bridge ‘inefficient’ logistics gaps between farm production and markets.
The bid to expedite the Clark National Food Hub was formalized through the separate signing of agreements, including between the DA and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), covering funding, development, and operations.
The FTI also partnered with Clark International Airport Corp. to erect the food hub at the Clark Aviation Capital, spanning around 40 hectares, with provisions for future expansion.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has directed FTI President Joseph Lo and Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez to have the mega food hub partially operational before the end of 2027.
He said the project aims to close a critical gap between farm production and markets, where inefficient logistics erode farmers’ earnings, discourage private investment, and increase consumer cost.
‘We cannot build a modern agriculture sector if our farmers can produce more but cannot get their products to markets efficiently and profitably,’ Tiu Laurel said. ‘Today, we give this project the foundation to move from paper to pavement.’
The food hub will bring together food aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and marketing into a single integrated system.
Planned facilities include food and cold storage, processing areas, food safety laboratories, export processing, and wholesale and retail spaces.
Lo said preparations have been under way since last year, including recruiting a dedicated team focused exclusively on designing the facility’s operations.
He added that the team has studied food hub models and logistics practices abroad, traveling to Thailand, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan to examine best practices that could be adapted to the Philippine setting.
FTI will operate, manage, and maintain the facility to make it efficient and sustainable, while the DA will oversee project implementation and construction monitoring.
Once fully scaled up, the DA said the hub could generate about 2,500 jobs and create opportunities across the agriculture and fisheries value chains.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez said the hub would raise incomes at the farm level.
‘Our dream here is simple: to put more money in the pockets of our farmers and fisherfolk. At the Clark Hub, they will have a direct way to sell their harvest to markets and buyers, with fewer layers in between,’ Perez said.
‘This is not just about buildings and warehouses-it is about building a system that makes life easier and more profitable for those who feed our nation,’ he added.
One will be located in Clark, Pampanga, to serve as a market channel for the provinces in North Luzon, and the other in Quezon province to cater to those in Southern Tagalog and Bicol.