Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. will turn over today equipment and other on-farm mechanization facilities worth P18,864,000 to 176 registered farmers’ associations and organizations in Negros Occidental at the Negros Occidental Multipurpose Activity Center in Bacolod City.

Albert Barogo, agricultural engineer of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, said yesterday that the Department of Agriculture, through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization and the province, has collaborated to provide mechanization infrastructure and facilities under the program, “On-Farm Mechanization Program: Provision of Farm Mechanization Facilities and Equipment to Farmers Associations.”

He said the project aims to address the identified gaps and concerns in the agricultural landscape of the local communities and to emphasize the attainment of 100 percent rice sufficiency and improve the food security program of the province, as part of the Negros First priority agenda Marañon.

The project will also bridge the gap between the use of traditional farming methods and as a temporary solution toward full farming mechanization, he also said.

It also aims to provide efficient pre and post harvest facilities that will help increase yield and productivity, Madrid added.

The province and the DA will turn over to the beneficiaries 10 threshers, 30 hand tractors, 6 rice transplanters, a combined harvester, 5,740 laminated sacks and 272 collapsible dryer, Barogo said.

The recipients will undergo training for drying and hermetic storage to equip them with basic knowledge in rice drying and storage, he added.*LTG

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