THE Department of Agriculture (DA) distributed P135.8 million worth of post-harvest facilities and financial assistance to farmers and farmers’ groups in two towns in Nueva Ecija yesterday.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led separate activities in Jaen and Guimba to distribute rice mills and dryers that will benefit two farmers’ cooperative with total membership of 344 farmers tilling a total 476 hectares in the two municipalities.
DA said the post-harvest facilities came from the Philippine Center for Post-harvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) which gets an annual P10 billion allocation from the Rice Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program which is funded by duties on imported rice under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).
The Pakul Primary Multipurpose Cooperative in Jaen received a rice processing system II that includes a modern, multi-stage rice mill with a capacity of 2 to 3 tons per hour which has a pre-cleaner, de-stoner, huller, mist polisher, length grader, color sorter, blending tank, automatic packing machine for milled rice, rice hull bin, dust collection system and air-conditioned control room. The system is worth P53.6 million.
The cooperative will also get a recirculating dryer with a 12-ton per batch drying capacity and one recirculating dryer with 6-ton per batch drying capacity made of stainless steel and equipped with two heating systems, a generator set, tools and other accessories valued at P7.06 million.
DA said the Pakul Cooperative is primarily focused on rice cultivation and has 172 farmer members who will directly benefit from the project as they manage a total area of 238 hectares of rice fields out of 6,208.2 hectares of rice area in Jaen.
DA’s Regional Field Office in Central Luzon also turned over RCEF production technologies and provided interventions worth total P13 million apart from a separate assistance from the High Value Crops Development Program of around P1.9 million.
In Guimba, DA and PhilMech turned over the Cooperative Enterprise for True Economic Reform a similar rice processing system worth P48.58 million and three 12-ton recirculating dryers worth P11.71 million.
The rice farmers’ cooperative has 172 members who collectively manage a total area of 238 hectares of rice fields out of 15,500 hectares.
DA said the cooperatives have existing services for drying of palay but are dilapidated due to age.
