Farmers' cooperative receives P65.6M rice processing facility from DA

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that it has turned over a rice processing facility worth P65.6 million to a farmers' cooperative in Nueva Ecija.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Christopher Morales and PHilMech Director IV Dr. Dionisio Alvindia witnessed the turnover of the facilities to the Talabutab Norte Primary Multipurpose Cooperative as part of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program.

“This investment will give our farmers greater control over how their palay is dried, milled, and processed, reducing their dependence on outside service providers while helping preserve grain quality. More importantly, it will allow them to retain more value from their harvest and improve their earning potential,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

“This investment will give our farmers greater control over how their palay is dried, milled, and processed, reducing their dependence on outside service providers while helping preserve grain quality. More importantly, it will allow them to retain more value from their harvest and improve their earning potential,” he added.

According to the DA, the investment brought integrated rice milling and drying facilities to farmers in Nueva Ecija, which is expected to reduce their dependence on commercial processing facilities.

The rice processing facilities include a multi-stage rice mill that can process 2 to 3 tons per hour and is valued at P54.7 million. This rice mill is equipped with pre-cleaning, de-stoning, hulling, polishing, grading, and color-sorting equipment, and more.

There were also three recirculating-type mechanical dryers worth P10.88 million that could dry 24 tons per batch.

Nueva Ecija is the country’s leading rice-producing province, according to the DA. The RCEF, which is part of the Rice Tariffication Law, hopes to provide equipment to qualified farming cooperatives. It has an annual allocation of P9 billion. —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News