The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) has laid the groundwork to secure the country’s food supply by signing a partnership deal with global food tech companies Food Starter Philippines, Inc., and Singapore-based World Food Chain Pte. Ltd. to modernize the P8.5-billion National Food Hub inside the civil aviation complex in Clark.
The National Food Hub supports the Marcos administration's food security agenda. The government aims to increase productivity, build the resilience of the agriculture sector, and improve the efficiency of food systems.
“This most recent MOU advances our efforts to develop a food hub ecosystem aggregator which will ensure sustainable food security solutions,” CIAC president Arrey Perez said.
Perez added that the 62-hectare Clark National Food Hub project aims to replicate the state-of-the-art agro-logistics system of food hubs in advanced Asian countries, raise food safety standards, and provide better opportunities for local farmers, fisherfolk, and growers.
The CIAC said that under the MOU, FoodStarter and World Food Chain would provide technical and advisory assistance on transport, trade and investment, warehousing, and storage infrastructure development for the proposed National Food Hub.
The project supports the Marcos administration's food security agenda.
Moreover, with their vast network, the companies will also help CIAC connect with various logistics hubs in Asia.
This is the third MOU that CIAC signed for the National Food Hub.
CIAC said it is in the process of finalizing two deals for the project.
FoodStarter is the local unit of Singapore-based Food Starter Pte. Ltd., a global agricultural financing and investment, farm incubator, and fundraising company.
On the other hand, World Food Chain is a global sourcing and resource platform that helps food and beverage (F&B) business owners procure their needs directly from food manufacturers and suppliers.