The Department of Agriculture (DA) said a P65.6-million rice processing facility has been handed over to a farmers' cooperative in Nueva Ecija, in a move intended to further mechanize rice production in the province, which is widely regarded as the Philippines' “Rice Granary.”

The Talabutab Norte Primary Multipurpose Cooperative is the recipient of the new rice processing system, which is anchored by a P54.7-million multi-stage rice mill with a processing capacity of two to three tons per hour. The cooperative also received two recirculating-type mechanical dryers worth P10.88 million. Mechanical dryers of this kind allow freshly harvested paddy to be dried regardless of weather conditions, protecting grain quality at the stage between field and mill.

According to the DA, the facility is capable of pre-cleaning, de-stoning, hulling, polishing, grading, and color-sorting, and features an automatic milled-rice packing machine — a sequence of steps that shapes the quality and grade of the milled rice that eventually reaches the market.

The equipment was provided through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program, implemented together with the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech). The program distributes machinery to qualified farmer cooperatives and associations.

The program estimates that mechanization can cut production costs by P2 to P3 per kilogram, while postharvest technologies can reduce losses by 3% to 5%.

The RCEF Mechanization Program has been extended until 2031, with annual allocations increasing from P5 billion to P9 billion. The program is authorized by Republic Act (RA) No. 12078, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, which amended RA No. 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law. Under the extended mandate, machinery distribution to qualified farmer cooperatives and associations is set to continue through 2031.

For context, the Rice Tariffication Law, enacted in 2019, liberalized rice imports and created the RCEF to help Filipino rice farmers improve their competitiveness. Rice is the staple food of the Philippines, and reducing postharvest losses has long been a challenge for the farm sector, which drying and milling infrastructure such as the newly turned-over facility is designed to address.

— Marie Mikaela H. Tormon

This report was originally published by BusinessWorld Online.