Rice harvester suited for RP

MANILA, Philippines - A foreign-designed rice harvester has been found adaptable to Philippine conditions.

Named PhilRice Briggs and Stratton combine harvester, the Chinese-designed machine has passed with “promising performance” rigorous tests done under local conditions.

It completed the required durability tests for 20 hectares, which improved the equipment’s performance and quality, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice).

The project, titled “Technology Utilization and Commercialization of PhilRice Briggs and Stratton Combine Harvester,” won the first prize (research category) in the recent 2009 National Symposium on Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (NSARRD) organized by the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD). A yearly activity, NSARRD recognizes the outstanding contributions of institutions and individuals in boosting agriculture R & D in the country.

Supported by the DA Bureau of Agriculture Research, the project, which focused on the machine’s utilization and commercialization, included endurance tests and evaluation of the locally adapted prototype crafted by PhilRice, accreditation of local manufacturers, and marketing to prospective buyers.

“The endurance tests findings helped improve performance and quality of the combine harvester,” PhilRice noted, as reported by PCARRD’s Liza Butierrez.

It added: “Technical Evaluation conducted by the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation Center (AMTEC) has proven the combine harvester’s efficiency in wet and dry conditions, in thin and thick crop densities, and in small and large plots.

AMTEC evaluation also showed a field efficiency of 75 percent, field capacity of 0.194 hectares per hour, fuel consumption of 20 liters per hectare, total grain loss of 1.68 percent, and 90.3 percent purity of threshed grains.

The use of the combine harvester was confirmed viable for farmer organizations, PhilRice further reported.

With an operating cost of P5,607/ha, the capital investment of P350,000 can be recovered after completing 91.10 ha with a payback period of 1.7 years.

Marketing of the machine commenced following the accreditation of a manufacturer in Pampanga after undergoing technical capability assessment and enhancement.

Farmers were trained on the machine’s actual operation.  – Rudy A. Fernandez