RP allots P136 million for rice processing centers

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is allocating P136 million in counterpart funds for the construction of four rice processing centers (RPCs) that will be partially financed by the Korean government.

The Philippines and Korea have committed to implement a Korean-funded project for the construction of four RPCs that will reduce post-harvest losses and raise the incomes of over 5,000 farmers in four Philippine provinces.

Representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) signed the Exchange of Notes with no less than President Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap  witnessing the event.

Agriculture Undersecretary Berna Romulo Puyat said P104 million will come from the DA, while P32 million will be sourced from the local government units where the RPCs would be built.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is providing a P649 million grant for the construction of the P785-million rice processing complex projects, Puyat said.

Puyat said the DA’s contribution to the project would involve inland transportation, taxes and project management, while the fund from LGUs would be for site development.

Puyat said the construction of the modern RPCs in Pangasinan, Iloilo, Bohol and Davao del Sur would create jobs  and increase incomes for the 5,160 farmer-beneficiaries.

It would also reduce post-production losses, enhance the quality of the milled rice, improve distribution systems and maximize rice by-products.

The RPCs are expected to create 2,737 jobs during the construction phase of the project and another 4,627 jobs for the next 15 years once the centers are operational, according to estimates done by the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE).

Over 222,000 farm laborers, BPRE said, are also expected to benefit from the project.

The RPCs, to be constructed simultaneously over the next two years, would be built in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan; Pototan, Iloilo; Pilar, Bohol; and Matanao, Davao del Sur.

Puyat said the establishment of the four RPCs in the Philippines follows the successful implementation of the first RPC in Baler, Aurora in 2007, which was built through a $2.3 million grant from KOICA.

The second phase of the construction of RPCs in the Philippines, Puyat said, would benefit 40 of the country’s palay-growing provinces.