The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed P59.99 million worth of farm machinery, equipment, and inputs to farmers in Agusan del Sur.
The Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, signed a memorandum of agreement with 16 farmer-cooperatives and associations (FCAs) in southern Negros Occidental, under which the DA’s Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PhilMech) will provide them with farm machinery in September 2025, to boost productivity and efficiency.
In a statement late Wednesday, August 20, the DAR said the grant for Agusan del Sur farmers will improve agricultural productivity in the entire Caraga region.
The agency said that the amount translated to the provision of 138 units of farm machinery and equipment to 32 agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOs), benefitting 2,878 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) across the region.
The DAR said the grant included tractors, rice harvesters, drying and milling facilities, mushroom houses, sprayers, water pumps, and grass cutters.
Meanwhile, the agency also provided 23,529 bags of seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural materials worth a total of P19.9 million to 133 ARBOs in 58 municipalities, supporting 12,588 ARBs in their farming operations.
DAR also awarded a P5-million solar multi-power station to the Butuan Agusan Farmers’ Cooperative, which will provide renewable energy solutions from pre-planting to post-harvest to increase the ARBs’ yields.
The facility will also reduce production costs and improve overall competitiveness and efficiency in the agricultural sector of the region, the DAR said.
“The solar multi-power station will ensure that we are no longer dependent solely on traditional methods. From land preparation to harvest, our production will be more efficient and less costly. We are proud to be the first beneficiaries in Caragas,” Manuelito Suan, Butuan Agusan Farmers’ Cooperative general manager, said.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III emphasized that the government will continue to empower farmers not only as landowners but also as modern producers equipped with technology and sustainable solutions.
“By providing farm machinery, inputs, and innovative technologies, we enable our ARBs to maximize their land, boost production, and secure sustainable livelihoods,” Estrella said.
He added that provisions of these farm support complemented the recent distribution of 33,694 hectares of land to 17,564 ARBs, along with the P298.94 million condonation of unpaid farmer debts under the Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage in Caraga.
Meanwhile, in Negros Occidental, the DA-Philmech will distribute advanced farm machinery to 16 farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) to boost productivity and efficiency by September 2025.
The distribution was formalized under the 2025 allocation of the Mechanization Program of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) 2.0, the DA said.
The signing of the memorandum of agreement was held at the Bago City Community Center, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday, August 19, between representatives of the 16 FCAs from the cities of Bago and Himamaylan, the municipalities of San Enrique, Valladolid, Binalbagan, and Isabela, and the DA-PhilMech.
In an interview on Wednesday, Bago City agriculturist Marvin John Blance said the agricultural machinery, including four-wheel tractors and rice combined harvesters, will be distributed to the farmers’ cooperatives between the second and third week of September.
He welcomed the opportunity for the rice farmers to avail of the government’s farm mechanization program to help them become more efficient, more competitive, and more resilient amid the challenges in agriculture.
“With mechanization, we reduce the burden of manual labor, increase productivity, and open more opportunities for our farmers to improve their income and quality of life,” Blance said.
In Bago City, the top rice-producing local government unit in Negros Occidental, the recipient-FCAs include the Alianza-Rufina Farmers Irrigators Association; Barangay Bagroy Farmers Irrigators Association; Calumangan Integrated Farmers and Farmworkers Association; Lacbama Hills Irrigators Association; and Sabala Irrigators Association.
Those from San Enrique are the Tabao Rizal Farmers and Farmworkers Association and the Tabao Rizal Farmers Association, while the FCAs from Valladolid are the Lacapa Irrigators Association, Mag-inugyon Farmers Irrigators Association, Pacol Himaya Irrigators Association, and Pukawabi Irrigators’ Association.
Other recipients are the Binalbagan municipal government; Bocada Irrigators Association; Southern Negros Agrarian Reform Cooperative; Toberi Irrigators Association in Himamaylan City; and Maytubig Integrated Farmers Association in Isabela.
