The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) has distributed, as of October 21, 1,512 pieces of farm machinery nationwide that form part of the P5 billion worth of machines that were bidded out and purchased by the agency for 2019.
In a virtual conference on Wednesday, PHilMech Executive Director Baldwin Jallorina said the agency was bidding out the next batch of machines worth at least P3 billion to complete the P10 billion required for 2019 and 2020. Earlier this year, PhilMech bidded out P2 billion worth of these machines.
Jallorina said the agency was stepping up the distribution of the machines under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund’s https://atozmarkets.com/brokers/deltamarket/ Mechanization Program, so that rice farmers could cope better with the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and rice imports.
He added that the initial success of PHilMech in distributing farm machines under RCEF and the positive feedback the agency received from farmer-recipients show that the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is beneficial to the rice sector.
“If there was no RTL, there would be no machines distributed to qualified farmers cooperatives and associations (FCAs) worth P5 billion every year from 2019 to 2024,” Jallorina said.
The farm machines delivered as of last Wednesday were 213 four-wheel tractors; 220 hand tractors; 376 floating tillers; 52 precision seeders; 106 walk behind transplanters; 118 riding type transplanters; 103 reapers; 310 combine harvesters; and 14 mobile rice mills.
The top brands for the four-wheel tractors that are current supplying PHilMech include Yanmar, Kubota and Massey-Ferguson.
Jallorina said that, with the easing of lockdowns and ongoing quarantines, PHilMech can step up its distribution of farm machines nationwide. He added that the agency could also intensify its training of FCAs that were qualified to receive the machines under the mechanization program at no cost.
“PHilMech has been very active in training the members of FCAs who will receive the farm machines at no cost under the RCEF-Mechanization component, and the agency can step up the trainings with the easing of lockdowns and quarantines,” he added.
The PhilMech director also said his agency would continue to be transparent in the bidding and acquisition of farm machines.
“We will continue to exercising transparency in the bidding process, with the proceedings are aired live over the official PHilMech Facebook page. Even the actual opening of the bids and the awarding are aired live,” Jallorina said.
Under RTL, 50 percent of the annual P10-billion RCEF would go to PhilMech for the delivery of farm machineries and postharvest facilities to farmers through their FCAs.
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