PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) engineers led by Elmer G. Bautista and Dr. Bernardo D. Tadeo and a manufacturer, Roman Lugto, said the tractor operator rides on the seat assembly while plowing, harrowing and leveling the field and, hence, would no longer walk an equivalent distance from Manila to Los Baños, Laguna while doing any of the three operations.
The seat assembly also provides a certain degree of safety and ease of operation for the tractor operator while plowing, harrowing or leveling. Since the operator no longer walks behind the machine, he escapes possible injury that might be caused by sharp objects in the mud.
The operator’s seat can be adjusted up or down, near or away from the main body of the machine depending on the length of the hand tractor handle and the reach of the operator.
Lugto and the PhilRice engineers have also designed a leveling plate that could be attached to the harrow during the second harrowing so that all portions of the field would be equally submerged in water. The leveling plate bulldozes the soil from higher to lower elevation as the operator puts pressure on the soil with his foot.
At the same time, they have designed a side plow that could be attached on the left side of the hand tractor along the end of the cagewheel so that portions of the field close to the dikes can be plowed.
Lugto sells the whole ride-on set at P9,000. Some 30 sets have been sold already with some buyers coming all the way from Mindanao and the Visayas.