P51M rice seed dome storage facility in Bohol, first biggest in PH

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Regional Field Office VII has just unveiled this month the first biggest rice seed storage facility in the country and in Central Visayas located in Ubay, Bohol, a monolithic dome-shaped structure worth P51 million with a storage capacity of one million kilograms of rice seeds or 40,000 bags of hybrid and 5,000 bags of inbred rice seeds.

According to Joel Elumba, OIC-regional executive director of DA-7 that the dome is necessary for Bohol being the rice granary of Central Visayas. With the structure rice seeds will be made available whole year-round and farmers can avail of rice seeds at the time they need them for planting.

“This is the first biggest climate-resilient rice seed storage in the country built right inside the government property in Ubay that is dedicated to agriculture development and research.  This is much better that the seven conventional seed storage facilities in the Central Visayas,” Elumba said.

DA-7 data showed that Bohol has more than 54,000 hectares of rice areas that need enormous storage for rice seeds. The recommended storing temperature of rice seeds is at 50 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 degrees Celcius for satisfactory rice storage and this can be achieved with the monolithic dome.

Central Visayas has seven storage buildings with costly maintenance for the building and electricity.  On the other hand, the monolithic dome can reduce the ambient temperature to 20 times lower, has low maintenance, and has a low carbon footprint- a requirement for the global standard of buildings, Elumba bared.

 

Yu, chief of the Regional Agricultural Engineering Division of the DA-7 cited that the 24-meter diameter and 10-meter height structure can withstand tornadoes, earthquakes, manmade disasters, fire, termites, and rot.

Yu said, the facility is built out of concrete foundations, used a dome type of roof, reinforced with iron rebars and polyethylene caulked by airfoam technology that has been designed to withstand 270-kilometer winds.

Elumba added that the facility has been designed to maintain an internal storage with near zero temperatures.  It can store about 40,000 bags of rice seeds, enough for two cropping seasons requirement for the Central Visayas rice farmers.

Jenelyn Yuson, builder of the multi million facility bared that this facility is built to withstand typhoons, earthquakes and other natural or manmade calamities, including fire, and could potentially safe-keep harvests against calamities as long as it is stowed inside the dome.

Done in 25 days, the monolithic dome which was inflated on June 1, 2022 would be reinforced with iron rebars and airfoam and start to operate soon.  DA-7 hoped that with this facility, 40 percent losses of harvest due to deteriorated rice seeds can now be avoided. (Photos: DA-7 FB)