Higher PhilMech budget to benefit 30% more rice farms

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) will mechanize about 44 percent of the country’s rice farms by the end of 2031 once its budget under the rice competitiveness fund (RCEF) is hiked to P9 billion annually.

PhilMech, which implements the mechanization component of the RCEF, said it fully supports the increased budget allocation under the proposed amendments and extension of the RCEF.

The agency noted that the initial rollout of RCEF, which spanned from 2019 to 2023, covered only 14 percent of the country’s rice farms under the mechanization component.

The higher RCEF budget allocation, PhilMech said, would be able to cover up to 30 percent new rice farms during the extension period, resulting in a 44 percent mechanization coverage nationwide.

The expanded mechanization coverage would improve rice farmers’ productivity and competitiveness and would cut down the country’s dependence on imports.

PhilMech said it would give equal focus to the establishment of more rice processing centers equipped with modern drying and milling machines, enabling more farmers cooperatives and associations (FCAs) and local government units (LGUs) to enter the rice value chain during the extension period of RCEF.

“The provision of modern drying and milling machines to qualified FCAs and LGUs will also make it possible for them to directly market their milled rice at the retail level, or to big institutions,” the agency said.

PhilMech said that it is ready to implement the extension of the RCEF mechanization program, noting that it has put in place the systems to bid out, acquire and distribute farm machines to qualified FCAs and LGUs.

PhilMech added that it has been training qualified FCAs and LGUs on the operation and maintenance of farm machines, ensuring their long-term utilization.

The agency said that there is a growing need to expand mechanization nationwide amid the widening shortage of farm laborers in many regions.

“PhilMech has also been getting requests from the FCAs and LGUs that got their farm machines under the program to extend RCEF, so more rice farmers can also get their farm machines at no cost,” it said.

Congress has already ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the bill that would extend and amend the RCEF until 2031.

At present, PhilMech receives P5 billion annually since 2019 to provide machinery and various processing facilities to rice FCAs under the RCEF mechanization component.

Since 2019, at least 7,339 FCAs and LGUs have benefited from the RCEF mechanization program receiving about 29,424 various rice farming technologies, according to PhilMech.