THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) on Sunday said has installed 151 rice processing systems (RPS) through the government‘s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program 2.0.
Of the total, 132 units are operational, while 19 will be ready by the yearend.
“With the complete mechanization interventions we have provided under RCEF — from land preparation to milling and storing palay — around 1.2 million rice farmers across the country have experienced its benefits,” said PHilMech Director Dionisio Alvindia.
Each RPS features modern dryers and rice mills and a storage warehouse for palay (unhusked rice) and milled rice.
The facilities enable farmers‘ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) to be part of the rice value chain by milling and selling various grades of rice directly to wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, instead of just selling palay, said Alvindia.
The RPS produces 7 percent higher milling recovery rate, which could increase farmers‘ incomes.
It has enabled farmers to buy palay from their members at higher prices and helped them reduce farm expenses, especially since the RPS was given for free, said Nora Angeles, general manager of Bantug Agricultural MPC in Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
“It [provides] additional income to [our cooperative] and [allays] our fear of incurring losses during harvest since we can now mill our palay into rice,” said Marisol Ventura, secretary of Caridad Sur MPC in Llanera, Nueva Ecija.
Eduardo Domingo, a member of the board of directors of the Cooperative Enterprise for True Economic Reform in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, thanked the Marcos administration for the RPS.
PHilMech said the initiative helps provide a consistent food supply, shielding families, including farmers, from the added burden of rising fuel prices.
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