DA forms TWG for farm mechanization

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has formed a technical working group (TWG) to establish a standardized measure of the level of farm mechanization in the country.

Under Special Order 168, the DA tasked the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) to determine the level of mechanization or mechanization index (MI) for rice, corn, and sugarcane.

One of the primary responsibilities of the TWG is to collect and share information on existing computation methods for MI of rice, corn, and sugar.

Additionally, the TWG is tasked with gathering pertinent data such as rice, corn, and sugarcane production, total arable land used, and specifications of the machinery, among others.

The TWG is chaired by BAFE director Ariodear Rico and includes representatives from UPLB-College of Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology (CEAT), PHilMech, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the National Corn Program, the Sugar Regulatory Administration, the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, and BAFE- Programs and Projects Management Division (PPMD).

In a meeting last Jan. 20, the TWG representatives discussed the harmonization of the Philippine Agricultural Mechanization Index.

The UPLB and PHilMech have already developed their own versions of MI, which will serve as a critical element of the National Agri-Fishery Mechanization Plan (NAFMP) 2023-2028, which is being finalized by the BAFE.

Rico said the NAFMP has always been the basis for mechanization intervention for the development of the agricultural sector.

UPLB-CEAT dean Rossana Marie Amongo led the development of the Modified Agricultural Mechanization Index (MAMI), which the DA adopted as a national policy in November 2017.

Meanwhile, PHilMech developed the PHilMech Agricultural Mechanization Index to rationalize the machinery distribution of PHilMech under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Program.