ILOILO – To boost local rice production in Panay, Capiz, a total of 502 farmers are set to receive farm machinery from the Department of Agriculture- Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PHILMECH) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
On Aug. 26, Butacal Farmers Association and DA-PHILMECH signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the incoming farm equipment such as one unit of a four-wheel tractor, walk-behind transplanter, rice combine harvester, recirculating dryer, and single-pass rice mill at Brgy. Butacal.
Five other groups signed MOA in Brgy. Calitan with Panay municipal agriculturist Editha Dollete
Each group will receive the following machinery:
*Calitan Multi-purpose Cooperative- Driven Disc Plow for four-wheel tractor (already given to the cooperative);
*Bago Grande Irrigators Farmers Association- four-wheel tractor, hand tractor, floating tiller, and riding type transplanter;
*Lus-onan Farmers Association- four-wheel tractor and rice combine harvester;
*Bago Chiquito Farmers Association- four-wheel tractor and rice combine harvesters; and
*Calapawan Farmers Association- rice combine harvester.
“This intervention is under the mechanization component of RCEF, which aims to improve their farm activities through appropriate and efficient mechanized technologies,” said Engr. Romar Areno, Visayas Cluster head of DA-PHILMECH.
The RCEF program aims to improve rice farmers’ competitiveness and income amid the liberalization of the Philippine rice trade policy that lifted quantitative restrictions on rice imports and replaced it with tariffs.
The mechanization program is intended to raise rice farmers’ productivity, profitability, and global competitiveness through strengthened access and use of appropriate production and post-production mechanization technologies./PN
