The Philippine Center for Postharvest and Mechanization (PhilMech) said the farm machinery that they would distribute to rice farmers under the rice competitiveness enhancment program (RCEP) may also help them cultivate other crops such as corn and cassava.
Citing a study it conducted, PhilMech said a number of the farm equipment to be distributed under RCEP are “crop neutral” or could be used in cultivating other crops, like corn, cassava, and even vegetables.
“Other impacts of the program may include cost reduction in using several mechanization technologies for other crops such as corn, cassava, and others. It should be noted that some facilities included in the program are crop neutral,” PhilMech said in a statement on Thursday.
PhilMech, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, said it would distribute four-wheel farm tractors, hand tractors, tillers, rice seeders, transplanters, irrigation pumps, small solar irrigation systems, threshers, combine harvesters, mechanical dryers, rice mills, among others, to rice farmer-beneficaries under the RCEP.
“The four-wheel farm tractor could be attached with implements specifically designed for crops like corn and cassava, and PHilMech has already designed a Cassava Digger that can be towed by a farm tractor to facilitate the harvesting of cassava roots,” it said.
“PHilMech has also developed the Corn Picker that is attached to a four-wheel farm tractor and mechanically harvests matured corn cobs. The Corn Picker can harvest corn cobs at a rate of 1 hectare per day. Using manual labor, it would take more than one day to harvest corn from 1 hectare of land,” it added.
PhilMech said it also developed a corn planter that could be attached to a farm tractor and could sow seeds and apply fertilizer simultaneously at a rate of 2.5 hectares in 8 hours. Using manual labor, it would take one whole day to the same task in just one hectare of land, it added.
PhilMech said the farm machinery and equipment would help rice farmers not only to improve their planting efficiency but also cope with the ill effects of climate change.
“Other potential quantifiable benefits are the prevented rice crop damages/losses due to weather risks such as tropical cyclones and prolonged rainy days,” it said.
“Machines such as combine harvester and mechanical dryer are found to be effective instruments in reducing the exposure of rice farmers to adverse weather,” it added.
Under the rice trade liberalization law, the government would spend at least P10 billion annually until 2024 to fund programs under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) that seeks to help Filipino rice farmers adjust with the influx of cheaper rice imports.
Under the RCEF, P5 billion would be allocated for the provision of farm machinery to improve the rice sector’s mechanization level while P3 billion would be spent for inbred rice seeds distribution and related trainings.
The RCEF also has a easy financing credit component with an annual funding of P1 billion and another P1 billion allocation for improvement of farmers’ technical know-how.