NegOr farmer’s group receive farm machineries worth P75M

Provincial Program Coordinator Sarah Perocho (extreme left) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) sharing updates to Dumaguete media. Perocho said DA-7 has provided agricultural interventions to the farmers in the province. (PIA Negros Oriental)

NEGROS ORIENTAL, Sept. 28 (PIA) -- Farm machineries worth P75-M have been turned over to farmer’s group in Bayawan City.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) handed over four units of hand tractor, five floating tillers, one rice precision seeder, one unit walk-behind rice transplanter, one riding-type rice transplanter, and five units mini rice thresher to Bayawan United Farmer Irrigators' Association, Inc.

According to Sarah Perocho, provincial program coordinator of DA, DA-7 Regional Executive Director Atty. Salvador Diputado and PhilMech Director Baldwin Jallorina personally turned over the machineries to the recipient farmer's group. 

Funded under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), other recipient farmers' group of these machineries in the province are from the cities of Bais, Canlaon, and Tanjay, and the municipalities of Sta. Catalina and Siaton, said Perocho.

In a turnover ceremony, Jallorina explained the benefits of farm mechanization to optimize farm yield.

It was noted in the guidelines from DA-7, only the provinces of Negros Oriental and Bohol are covered under the RCEF program in Central Visayas, being the major rice-producing provinces in the region.

"This project is part of the Rice Mechanization Program implemented by Agriculture Secretary William Dar to increase farm production and income," Diputado said.

The rice mechanization program would reduce the amount of physical labor required from the farmer and improve their planting efficiency, added Diputado.

He also shared the challenge of Dar to the local government units to increase their farm production by at least 10 percent, which was positively accepted by the local officials present.

Data from PhilMech shows that about two to three percent of postharvest losses can be saved with the use of mechanized rice mills, mechanical dryers, and combined harvesters, among others.

Jallorina also shared that using rice machines is applicable amid the COVID-19 pandemic, since only two to three people are needed to get things done. (jct/PIA7 Negros Oriental with reports from DA-7)

Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)