‘Rice farm mechanization level to hit 3 hp/ha by 2031’

MANILA, Philippines — The average mechanization level of the country’s rice farms could hit three horsepower per hectare (hp/ha) by 2031, improving the sector’s productivity while reducing labor costs, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) said.

PhilMech said it is “confident” the rice mechanization level in the country would reach the said level at the end of the proposed extension of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) mechanization program.

Under the proposed extension, PhilMech, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, would get a guaranteed allocation of P9 billion beginning next year until 2031 to sustain its mechanization program for rice farms.

The amount is almost double than the P5 billion it is getting under the present form of RCEF, which is set to expire by the end of this year.

The agency said local rice farms’ mechanization level, or the level that farms use machines for their crop production, has reached 2.77 hp/ha as of October, slightly higher than the 2.68 hp/ha recorded at the end of 2022.

The improvement in mechanization level was attributed to the RCEF mechanization program that started in 2019.

The agency said it has distributed 29,583 units of farm machinery and post-harvest technologies to eligible beneficiaries under the earmarked program. The figure represents 95.15 percent of its 30,100 target units.

PhilMech said it is confident it would achieve its target before June next year.

Last month, the attached agency of the DA said it would be able to mechanize about 44 percent of the country’s rice farms by the end of 2031 once the RCEF mechanization program is extended.

PhilMech earlier noted that the initial rollout of RCEF covered only 14 percent of the country’s rice farms under the mechanization component.

The higher RCEF budget allocation, PhilMech said, would be able to cover up to 30 percent new rice farms during the extension period, resulting in a 44-percent mechanization coverage nationwide.

The expanded mechanization coverage would improve rice farmers’ productivity and competitiveness and would cut down the country’s dependence on imports.