Ifugao LGUs, farmer groups given over P101M worth of agricultural equipment

Lagawe, Ifugao - To further boost the province’s agricultural production, local government units and some farmer groups in Ifugao were recently provided with over P101 million worth of agricultural equipment by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech).

Formerly known as the Bureau of Post-harvest Research and Extension, PHilMech is an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture. It is mandated to generate, extend, and commercialize appropriate post-production technologies and practices in order to reduce crop losses and improve food quality and safety in the country.

Under the agency’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization program, 63 farmer cooperatives and associations and the eleven municipalities in Ifugao received 221 units of farm machinery and postharvest facilities during the turnover ceremony on February 6, 2024.

These include 8 four-wheel-drive tractors, 5 hand tractors, 1 walk-behind transplanter, 2 riding-type transplanters, 1 rice precision seeder, 2 rice reapers, 3 combine harvesters, 3 six-ton recirculating dryers, and 1 single-pass rice mill.

The given equipment was valued at P101.97 million, as cited by the DA - PHilMech in their press release.

Leading the ceremony were PHilMech’s Director for Extension Rodelio Idago, FMFOD Assistant Chief Domingo Miranda, DA-Cordillera Regional Technical Director Danilo Daguio, Provincial Agriculturist Domingo Mariano, and Villar SIPAG Representative Adolfo Manalaysay.