THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is allocating P3.3 billion to procure 300 rice drying systems over the next three years, raising capacity for the process by 35-40%.
The DA said in a statement that it has delivered and commissioned 118 rice processing systems, with an additional 27 due by the end of this year.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has declared his intention to modernize the agriculture sector, citing the need for infrastructure investment to minimize post-harvest losses and make supply chains more robust.
Deputy Project Director Noel T. Provido said the new facilities can only partly address the decades-long underinvestment in agriculture.
“There must be parallel moves to ensure access to inputs, mechanization, and fair pricing mechanisms.”
“This is a strong step forward, but structural issues in rice production can’t be solved by drying facilities alone,” Mr. Provido added. — Andre Christopher H. Alampay