THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said it has procured P12.9 billion worth of farm machinery for distribution to farmers, equivalent to about 90% of its target between 2019 and 2021.
PhilMech said it procured 19,765 units of machinery, against the target of 20,129, for a program to modernize agriculture which is funded by rice import tariffs.
PhilMech said its delivery rate is 88% of the target or 17,769 units distributed to qualified Farmers Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs).
The modernization drive is supported by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), a component of the Rice Tariffication Law which had liberalized rice imports. RCEF is designed to make farmers more productive and competitive with imports.
“The various farm machinery suppliers… also faced challenges as the lockdowns and quarantines restricted the delivery of farm equipment to the beneficiaries of the RCEF Mechanization Program,” PhilMech Executive Director Baldwin G. Jallorina said in a virtual briefing.
“PhilMech initially encountered difficulties in convincing farmers to undergo training virtually so they will be capable of operating and maintaining the machines given to them at no cost,” he added.
Actual distribution of the machinery kicked off in June 2020 following delays caused by the pandemic.
“To help speed up the procurement process, PhilMech undertook all the pre-bidding, bidding and awarding of contracts through livestream over Facebook, which also assured the proceedings were transparent and free of corruption,” Mr. Jallorina said.
“Eventually, the members of the qualified farmers’ cooperatives and associations or FCAs became very open to be trained virtually and this helped connect more farmers to social media,” he added.
Nueva Ecija was the top recipient over the period, followed by Isabela. Four-wheel tractors and hand tractors were the most distributed items of machinery.
Other machinery included floating tillers, precision seeders, mobile rice mills, riding type transplanters, reapers, and threshers.
Once lockdown restrictions ease, Mr. Jallorina said further distribution activity is expected.
“We also believe that the distribution of farm machinery by PhilMech can be stepped up as COVID-19 cases go down further, and through that, the rural economy can recover faster from the negative effects of the pandemic,” he added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
