Farmers in Quirino province are set to benefit from a ₱96-million investment in new farming equipment and a rice processing facility which was inaugurated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and PhilMech on Thursday, Sept. 12.
According to the DA, the rice processing facility, equipped with a rice mill and dryers, was granted to the Diffun Saranay and Development Cooperative (DISADECO), representing 2,320 farmers who oversee 3,502 hectares of rice fields.
The agency also stated that along with the processing facility, tractors, harvesters, and threshers were provided to 13 farmers' cooperatives and associations in Quirino to aid in modernizing their farming practices.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr. led the inauguration, emphasizing the government's commitment to strengthening postharvest systems.
“This support package to Quirino rice farmers, which features a state-of-the-art rice processing system, is part of the Department of Agriculture’s determined push to improve post-harvest systems and infrastructures across the country to reduce production losses and ensure the country’s food security,” he said in his speech.
The DA noted that the new Rice Processing System (RPS) includes a multi-stage rice mill with a processing capacity of 4-5 tons per hour, or over 48 tons per day.
As such, the agency said it is equipped with three recirculating dryers with a combined capacity of 36 tons per batch, as well as two additional dryers with a capacity of 6 tons per batch.
The total cost of the facility and equipment for DISADECO amounts to ₱78.1 million, the department added.
“The support package provided by PhilMech to Diffun farmers’ cooperative was bankrolled with funds from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, or Rice Fund, of the Rice Tariffication Law. PhilMech gets ₱5 billion from tariff collected from imported rice between 2019 and 2024 to modernize Philippine agriculture,” the agency noted.
Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, was also present at the event.