President Marcos has inspected the P67.48-million multi-stage rice processing complex project in Barangay Ipil, Echague, Isabela which was inaugurated last year.
The project, known as the Rice Processing System II, is expected to benefit thousands of farmers in the province.
It was inaugurated on Nov. 28, 2024 as part of the government's Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program.
The complex includes the state-of-the-art multi-stage rice mill with three Tons Per Hour (TPH) capacity valued at P48.58 million and five recirculating dryers, with 12-ton capacity each, worth P18.9 million.
According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the RCEF was created under Republic Act 11203 to improve the competitiveness of rice farmers and increase their income amidst the liberalization of the Philippine rice trade policy.
It added that it established the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEP) to complement and supplement the existing DA-National Rice Program (DA-NRP).
The RCEP Mechanization Program aims to reduce production costs by P2-3/kg, decrease post-harvest losses by three to five percent, and enhance value addition by 30 percent.
The program's beneficiary is Isabela's provincial government, which maintains 70,556 registered farmers in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), cultivating 66,303 hectares of rice land.
It is expected to directly benefit the farmers by improving rice processing and post-harvest operations.
During the inspection, Marcos was joined by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. Isabela Governor Rodolfo Albano III, and Echague Mayor Francis Faustino Dy were also present.