By Christine Cudis/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The government-owned Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) gets a total refurbishment in a bid to provide necessary aid to Filipino agricultural producers.
“This event marks the 50th year of the company and a major 360 degrees turn on its current operations,” FTI president Ariel Buenaventura said in his gratuity speech on Friday night.
FTI, which will commemorate its 50th year anniversary on April 30, already started with a pre-celebration for its revival from being almost shut down following its divestment in 2012.
Over the years, the services provided by FTI continued to dwindle with the shutdown of its various postharvest services. This led to its original mandate and purpose not being met thus resulting in the government’s plan to close down the company.
The imminent shutdown started with the divestment of 74 hectares of its property in 2012 and the former administration’s plan not to renew the corporate life of the company in 2016.
“We were almost closed, almost shut but light was seen at the end of the tunnel with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s mission to strengthen support to the agricultural sector,” Buenaventura added in an interview at the sidelines of the event.
FTI provides accessible and modern facilities for agricultural producers to link with consumer and promote price stability.
Currently, the agency provides services for the Department of Trade Industry, Dizon Farms, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Eikobodugo, among others. It also functions as an estate leasing company that caters to both Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and non-PEZA properties.
The renewal of the corporate life entails the revival of the original mandate. The five-year roadmap for FTI was created late 2018 with the theme aligned with the 2040 Philippine Development Plan of the government.
This five-year plan is anchored on the three pillars of the AMBISYON 2040 — “Malasakit, Pagbabago, at Pag-unlad (Adherence, Change, and Progress)”.
For the first step of their newly-crafted roadmap, various cold storage facilities or Regional Food Terminals in the country’s strategic locations in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will rise.
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