Korean agriculture equipment makers eye assembly plant in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines — South Korean agri equipment makers are putting up an assembly plant in Batangas next year to contribute to the mechanization of the local farm industry.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) inked a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of an assembly plant for the production of tractors, harvesters, planters and accessories.

The assembly plant will be located in a 50-hectare area in Malvar and is expected to be operational towards the end of 2019 and will later be converted into a manufacturing facility.

“A portion of the 50-hectare area will be used as a demonstration farm which would use the locally assembled farm equipment and machinery. They will also establish a research and development and training center for farmers and equipment operators,“ Piñol said.

The agri chief emphasized that the establishment of the assembly plant in the Philippines would translate to more investments and more jobs for skilled workers.

The agreement also aims to establish an agricultural machinery manufacturing cluster, enhance research, development and training for agricultural machine technology, and establish demonstration complex on agricultural mechanization.

KAMICO said about 30 companies decided to establish the assembly and manufacturing facilities in the Philippines in view of the aggressive mechanization program of the government.

The DA started its engagement with KAMICO in June this year when about 100 executives of farm equipment and machinery firms held their convention in Mactan in Cebu.

Mechanization is one of the flagship programs that the DA and the Duterte administration is pushing for the agriculture sector.

The DA has been pushing for a standardized mechanization program as the country’s lack of access to efficient farm equipment and facilities has a great effect on the national post-harvest loss level, which averages at 16 percent annually.

DA said an increase in farm mechanization could make Filipino farmers as competitive as their counterparts in Thailand and Vietnam.