Manila, March 19 -- A solar-powered seed warehouse with cold storage and acclimatization rooms is now ready to provide rice farmers with quality seeds to boost food security.

The 450-square-meter warehouse, located at the compound of the National Tobacco Administration and PhilRice in Barangay Tabug in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, was inaugurated on Wednesday.

In her speech during the inauguration ceremony, PhilRice-Batac director Dr. Mary Ann Baradi said the warehouse "represents a critical addition to the station's infrastructure, complementing the first seed warehouse funded by the DA (Department of Agriculture) Regional Field Office 1 in 2022-2023."

"With these facilities, we are enhancing our capacity to store and preserve seeds, ens...