CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Mayor Arnan Panaligan recently turned over agricultural machinery to farmer-beneficiaries of Barangay Camansihan Farmers Association (BCFA) in this city.
According to Mayor Panaligan, this is part of the Farm Mechanization Program being implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA) under its Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) with the following component programs: rice farm machinery and equipment; rice seed development, propagation, and promotion; expanded rice credit assistance; and rice extension services.
The Rice Mechanization Program aims to raise rice farmers’ productivity, profitability as well as global competitiveness through the strengthened access and use of appropriate production and postproduction mechanization technologies that are available in the country.
The farm pieces of machinery given to farmer-beneficiaries include one unit of precision seeder, one unit of four-wheeled tractor, one unit of combined harvester, and two units of hand tractors.
With the presence of the local chief executive, Vice Mayor Gil Ramirez, City Councilor Charles Pansoy and City Agriculturist Lorelein Sevilla, the types of machinery were received by Barangay Chairman Jimmy Soriano and farmers association President Ruben De Leon.
Prior to the provision of these machinery, DA has already provided the association with 466 bags of inbred seeds, one unit of recirculating dryer, and an additional hand tractor.
DA assured that with all these equipment, rice farmers will use the efficient and cost-reducing rice mechanization interventions in order to raise production and profitability.
Meanwhile, Mayor Panaligan said all programs of DA are anchored to the city’s Angat Kabuhayan sa Agrikultura Program (AKAP), which is the current flagship program of the city government in agricultural development. (PIA-OrMin)
