Farmers told to embrace agri mechanization in Zambales

IBA, Zambales — The provincial government of Zambales encouraged farmers in the province to make full use of farm mechanization, stressing that it is a “game-changer” that would boost production and make the local farming industry sustainable.

Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. made this point at the turnover here of some P32-million worth of rice production machines and postharvest equipment from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to various farmers’ organizations and some local government units. 

“Mechanization is apparently the only way now to increase farming efficiency and address the gap in agricultural production and farmers’ income,” Ebdane said, adding that farmers have to start making full use of farm machinery “if we wanted to increase productivity and continue to make farming profitable for everybody.”

“And it should be a game-changer, too, because we have seen that mechanization is attracting younger generations to farming, which is still the biggest industry in Zambales,” the governor added.

Ebdane led the distribution here on Tuesday, November 5, of farm machinery secured through Sen. Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, and distributed under the DA’s Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program. 

These include hand tractors, levee makers, PTO-driven disc plows, rice combine harvesters, precision rice seeders, cassava granulators, shallow tube wells, and composting facilities for biodegradable wastes.

Among the beneficiaries are five farmers’ groups in Botolan town: Biangue Agro-Farm Association, which received a hand tractor; Botolan Muna Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative, levee maker; Maligha Irrigators Assn., four-wheel tractor, PTO-driven disc plow, and hand tractor; Batonlapoc Farmers Association, composting facility; and Mamalyan nin San Miguel, composting facility.

Meanwhile, San Felipe’s Gurung Guru Farmers Assn. received a hauling truck, a cassava granulator, and a composting facility; the North East West South Farmers Assn. got two units of shallow tube well, while the town’s LGU got a four-wheel tractor and a PTO-driven disc plow.

In San Antonio, the Condicion Payong Farmers’ Association received a four-wheel tractor, and a PTO-driven disc plow; the Kapuriktan Nagtugawan Inabangan Farmers Association, hand tractor; Namanaan Farmers Association, levee maker; and the San Antonio LGU, a rice combine harvester.

In Candelaria, the Bunglo Zambales Irrigators Association got a four-wheel tractor, PTO-driven disc plow, and a hand tractor, while the Candelaria Corn Growers Association received a shallow tube well.

Palauig’s 1st Damayan Bagsit Irrigators Association was given a precision rice seeder, while Batungbacal Farms, Bulawen Integrated Farmers Association, and Zennor Hydroponics Farm each got a composting facility.

In San Narciso, the Capaniquian Farmers Association got a levee maker; Negatil Rice and High Value Crops Farmers Association, hand tractor and two units of shallow tube well; San Pascual Irrigators Association, four-wheel tractor, PTO-driven disc plow, and hand tractor; and Simminublan Livestock Farmers Association, hand tractor.

The Guinabon Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative in Santa Cruz town, meanwhile, received one levee maker, while the Tubo-tubo South Farmers Association got a composting facility.

Zambales, which largely remains an agricultural area, produces rice, mango, vegetables, root crops, corn, and sugar cane as the main seasonal crops. Its palay production has been growing from more than 90,000 metric tons in 2003 to almost 160,000 metric tons in 2020. 

Santa Cruz, the northernmost town in the province, is the top rice producer with 23,559 metric tons (MT) in 2023, followed by San Narciso WITH 19,515 MT, and Palauig, 13,290 MT.