The Department of Agriculture on Thursday distributed PHP135.8 million of posthartvest facilities and financial assistance to farmers and farmers’ groups in two towns in Nueva Ecija, the country’s largest rice producing province.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. led separate activities in Jaen and Guimba to distribute rice mills and dryers that will benefit two farmers’ cooperative with total membership of 344 farmers tilling a total 476 hectares in the two municipalities.
The postharvest facilities came from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech), the lead DA agency for the Rice Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund Mechanization Program. PhilMech gets the lion’s share of the P10 billion taken from RCEF which is funded by duties on imported rice set under the Rice Tariffication Law.
Joining Secretary Tiu Laurel in the Nueva Ecija events are other government officials led by Congresswoman Mikaela Angela B. Suansing, Nueva Ecija Acting Governor Emmanuel Antonio M. Umali, local government representatives, representative of Senator Cynthia Villar, chairwoman of the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture and principal author of the Rice Tariffication Law.
Senator Villar is also spearheading efforts in Congress to extend the law to further improve rice farmers’ productivity and incomes.
“The government is giving back to farmers what is due them and with the help of our legislators we could provide rice producers more assistance to enhance their competitiveness through the extension of the Rice Tariffication Law,” said the DA chief.
Sec. Tiu Laurel envisions more irrigation, postharvest facilities and other infrastructures that would help increase farm yields, lower the cost of inputs, and raise farmers’ incomes while assuring the country’s food security.
In Jaen, the DA and PhilMech provided the Pakul Primary Multi-purpose Cooperative with a rice processing system II that includes a state-of-the-art, multi-stage rice mill with a capacity of 2-3 tons per hour which also has a pre-cleaner, de-stoner, huller, mist polisher, length grader, color sorter, blending tank, automatic packing machine for milled rice, rice hull bin, dust collection system, and air-conditioned control room. The system is valued at PHP53.6 Million.
The cooperative will also get a recirculating dryer, with a 12-ton per batch drying capacity, and one recirculating dryer, with 6-ton per batch drying capacity, made of stainless steel and equipped with two heating systems, a generator set, tools, and other accessories. These dryers are valued at PHP7.06 Million.
The Pakul Cooperative is primarily focused on rice cultivation and has 172 farmer members who will directly benefit from the project. Collectively, the farmers manage a total area of 238 hectares of rice fields out of 6,208.2 hectares of rice area in Jaen. It has existing services for drying of palay but the machine and equipment they use are dilapidated due to age.
The DA Regional Field Office III also turned over RCEF production technologies and provided interventions worth total P13 million.
Assistance from the High Value Crops Development Program of around PHP1.9 million were also made available.
In Guimba, the DA and PhilMech turned over the Cooperative Enterprise for True Economic Reform a similar rice processing system II worth PHP48.58 million plus three 12-ton recirculating dryers worth PHP11.71 million. The rice farmers’ cooperative has 172 members who collectively manages a total area of 238 hectares of rice fields out of 15,500 hectares. Cooperative Enterprise’s also has an existing service for drying of palay but these are dilapidated due to age. ### (Photo courtesy of DA-RFO 3)
