The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech), has launched a roadshow in Oriental Mindoro aimed at revolutionizing farming across the central island of Mindoro.
“This is more than just a display of machines — this is our commitment to help farmers become more competitive, efficient, and sustainable,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a prepared message.
Tiu Laurel’s representative delivered his prepared speech, as inclement weather prevented the agriculture chief from attending the roadshow.
More than 1,200 participants were expected to attend the mechanization roadshow, which was held with support from the DA and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO).
High-performance machinery for rice, corn, orchard, and high-value crop production were showcased, along with plenary sessions and technology presentations.
Featured equipment include the TYM Four-Wheel Tractor, WECAN Farm Implements, Sungboo Levee Maker, and the BULLS Onion Mechanization Machinery System, along with tools such as onion planters/seeders, mobile elevated work platforms, and corn mills.
A key highlight of the mechanization roadshow was the ceremonial turnover of P20.196 million worth of rice machinery and equipment under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
The DA handed over seven four-wheel tractors and four village-type rice mills to 11 farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) and local government units (LGUs) in Oriental Mindoro.
The agency said on the second day of the event, farm machinery, including nine four-wheel tractors, valued at P21.599 million were distributed to nine FCAs and LGUs in Occidental Mindoro. (Under the DA-Philmech program, LGUs act as stewards of machinery which become available for use by farmers who do not belong to large cooperatives that usually qualify for the Philmech grants.
KAMICO is making a long-term investment in the country by building the Philippines’ first agricultural machinery manufacturing facility in Tarlac.
Since 2019 when the Rice Tariffication Law was first passed, DA-PhilMech has distributed over 28,817 units of farm machinery worth nearly P15 billion as of the end of 2024, under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) mechanization program. RTL tariff revenues fund the RCEF program. The distributed equipment included various machines for land preparation, crop establishment, harvesting, threshing, drying, and milling.
The DA has yet to give the total tally of distributed farm equipment, to date, in 2025.
