Manila: To further accelerate mechanization in local palay (unhusked rice) production, more than 1,700 farm machines have been distributed to Filipino farmers nationwide, according to the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech).
According to Philippines News Agency, this initiative aligns with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to enhance food security and boost direct support to Filipino farmers through agricultural modernization. In a statement on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. emphasized the necessity of mechanization to sustain efficiency and resilience in the country's rice sector. "We are building an integrated system that enables farmers to harvest more efficiently, dry and mill their palay properly, reduce waste and earn more from every crop," he stated.
Tiu Laurel further noted the broader benefits of mechanization, which extend beyond increased palay productivity. He highlighted that mechanization is vital as the farming population ages, allowing farmers to cultivate land with reduced physical strain and addressing labor shortages during planting and harvest. PHilMech Executive Director Dionisio Alvindia echoed these sentiments, stating that increased deployment of rice machines enables palay farmers to produce more at a lower cost. "Mechanization lowers labor costs, speeds up critical farm operations and minimizes losses from planting to postharvest," he explained.
As of June 30, PHilMech has deployed 1,731 units of machinery for the first half of the year, which accounts for nearly 76 percent of the 2,289 units procured under the 2025 allocation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). These machines include 900 four-wheel tractors, 700 combine harvesters, 95 recirculating dryers, and 36 precision seeders, all aimed at reducing post-harvest losses, decreasing reliance on manual labor, and expediting farm operations.
"These improvements translate directly into higher productivity, better grain quality and increased incomes for our rice farmers," Alvindia noted. At least 1,238 farmers' cooperatives, associations, and local government units have benefited from the equipment rollout. The agency has also completed the procurement of all machines under the 2025 budget, with the remaining units scheduled for distribution.
Overall, PHilMech has deployed 34,721 machines nationwide, including 32,990 production and postharvest machines distributed to 7,588 farmers' cooperatives, associations, and local government units under the RCEF mechanization Phase I since 2019. A PHilMech study indicated that these efforts have reduced labor costs by PHP2 per kilogram of palay, boosting farmers' profit by about PHP9,000 per hectare, translating to an estimated PHP2.66 billion in additional annual income in RCEF-covered farms.
The agency also reported PHP541.3 million worth of rice savings from preventing post-harvest losses, equivalent to 31,841 metric tons of rice per year. With these investments, the Philippines' rice farm mechanization level is expected to rise to 2.81 horsepower per hectare by the end of 2025, approaching the 3.40 hp per hectare target mechanization level under RCEF and exceeding the 2.68 hp/ha recorded in 2022.
