BACOLOD CITY — Rice farmers in Negros Occidental will get assistance from the provincial government to acquire machineries to help them increase production and improve profitability.
Japhet Masculino, head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), said that since farmers are limited by the prohibitive costs of farm machineries, the Capitol is looking for ways to assist them by tapping suppliers.
“The payment, which will be guaranteed by the provincial government, will be amortized by the farmers upon the use of equipment,” he said.
On Thursday, the OPA initiated a Demonstration on Farm Mechanization at the Negros Organic Technology Center at Barangay Tabunan in Bago City attended by about 200 farmers from various irrigators associations in the Fourth District.
The activity showcased demonstrations on the use of various machineries such as transplanter, combined harvester, and tractor with implements, including levee maker and rotavator used for land preparation.
The demonstration sought to encourage farmers to embrace mechanized farming as a regular practice and inculcate in them its benefits like reduction of production cost, Masculino said.
In the acquisition of the machineries, the province will serve as guarantor, and in case of calamities, wherein farmers will be unable to pay the equipment the province will pay the supplier for the meantime utilizing its guarantee fund.
Masculino said the province will just facilitate the acquisition for farmer associations and groups who can afford to pay.
“We are looking for interested companies as we target to implement the measure this year,” he added.
Masculino said he has proposed to Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. to invite firms, which can provide equipment in acceptable payment terms.
As the province scouts for potential partners, the OPA will start educating farmers especially on operational maintenance and business planning, he added.
For his part, Marañon said farm mechanization will help increase the province’s rice production by 20 percent and boost its current 90 percent rice self-sufficiency status.
“With almost 40 percent of the total areas irrigated plus more farm mechanization, we can already be fully self-sufficient,” the governor added. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
