QUOTING the increase in the prices of petroleum products due to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law or Republic Act 10963, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has offered some technologies to help farmers maximize their income.
The PhilRice’s Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division (REMD) has recommended the use of renewable energies for rice production.
Instead of using diesel or gasoline fuel, farmers can now opt for biomass or rice hull, which can be converted into gas using the Water Pump Gasifier, it said.
Water Pump Gasifier is a type of rice hull gasifier engine-pump system (RHGEPS) which is compact, light-weight, mobile, and affordable for small farmers.
This technology is already in the final stage of pilot testing.
It was learned that the Water Pump Gasifier can continuously operate for two hours using only half sack or 17 kilograms of rice hull.
Fuel is only necessary for the start-up of the machine during its first 10 minutes of operation.
This can give the farmers about 30 to 40 percent savings in their irrigation costs.
This amount of savings can make up for the P4/litter average increase in the cost of fuel due to the implementation of TRAIN Law, according to PhilRice.
The gasifier is also environment-friendly, as it reduces the use of fossil fuel through biomass.
The rice hull used for gasifier, when carbonized, can still be used for seed bed and other applications, thus, promoting zero-waste usage for the farmers.
PhilRice is now working on extending the operation hours of the gasifier from 2 hours to 8 hours due to the requests of the farmers who have used it for pilot testing, so that they can do more activities while the machine is operating.
Aside from the gasifier, PhilRice also emphasized the edge of using the mechanical transplanter over the manual method.
The equipment enables the farmers to plant their seedlings at a younger age (14-18 days), as compared to the usual 25-30 days using manual transplanting.
Moreover, it ensures equal distance between seedlings, where the precise distance between seedlings increases the chance of having thicker tillers, thus, resulting in higher yield.
Using the mechanical transplanter, farmers can increase the usual target of 8 tons up to 10 tons during dry season, and the target of 5 tons to 7 tons during wet season.
Considering this increase in yield owing to mechanized farming, there’s a big chance that farmers can also increase their income.
The approximate additional 20 cavans increase in their yield could be translated into P15, 000 additional income per hectare.
PhilRice also added ways on how farmers can save water and minimize their production costs.
One of which is by using the Alternate Wetting and Drying.
This technology allows farmers to use lesser water during irrigation.
Another way to save water is by doing the land preparation two weeks after harvest.
This will enable farmers to take advantage of the residual moisture of the soil, making it easier to manage./PN
