BACOLOD City –The plan to introduce rice block farming in Negros Occidental is seen to complement the efforts of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist in improving farm productivity through mechanization.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said rice block farming is similar to the concept of service providing.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) earlier said it is eyeing the expansion of block farming program to other crops, like rice and corn, aside from sugarcane.
DAR said block farming will capacitate farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programto boost production by consolidating their lands and giving them the chance to manage collectively in order to produce more.
An organization of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Kabankalan City is currently exploring rice block farming.
Masculino said considering that ARBs have small landholdings, block farming allows them to make their areas more appropriate for farm mechanization.
The provincial government had been exploring a credit-guarantee-scheme agreement with interested companies in a bid to boost farm mechanization in Negros Occidental.
Masculino added that by making farmer associations become service providers, their economies of scale are being improved by incurring lower production cost.
“In essence, mechanization is similar to [that] of block farming as they both employ the concept of collectivity,” Masculino said. (With PNA/PN)
