Innovate Visayas Roadshow highlights agri-tech advances

By Mariela Angella Oladive

Themed “Food Security through Right Mechanization,” the Department of Agriculture – Western Visayas (DA-WV), in collaboration with the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO), kicked off the Innovate Visayas Roadshow on July 24 at the Department of Agriculture Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center (DA-WESVIARC) in Hamungaya, Brgy. Buntatala, Jaro.

Running until July 25, the two-day event featured a series of activities designed to inform and empower the farming community.

Highlights included demonstrations of cutting-edge agricultural machinery, informative sessions on best practices in mechanization, and opportunities for farmers to engage with industry experts.

Among the innovations showcased were drone seeders, brown rice mills, precision seeders, mounted sprayers, lifting machines, cultivators, and rotating disc plows. These technologies, developed by Korean companies, are expected to revolutionize farming techniques and significantly improve production outcomes.

Dr. Dionisio Alvindia, Director of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), emphasized the event’s significance.

“This roadshow aims to showcase to our farmers the latest technologies, from land preparation, cultivation, drying, harvesting, and the entire value chain. We aim to demonstrate that such machinery exists to help increase their yield and income,” Alvindia said in an interview.

He noted the limited awareness among farmers regarding existing technology.

“Sadly, the awareness of our farmers is still low. They only know about tractors for using a rotavator. What they don’t realize is that a tractor is a utility vehicle that can be equipped with a loader, backhoe, and other attachments,” he remarked.

Under the Rice Tariffication Law, authored by Senator Cynthia Villar, PhilMech has distributed over 30,000 farm machines across 57 rice-growing provinces.

“The Rice Tariffication Law has been instrumental. Each year, PhilMech receives five million pesos to support these mechanization initiatives,” he added.

In addition to the roadshow, three farmers’ cooperatives and associations, along with one local government unit in Iloilo, received machinery under the Rice Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program.

The beneficiaries included the Leon Municipal Government, Tubungan Multipurpose Cooperative in Lambunao, Agtubabo Irrigators’ Association, Inc. in Barotac Nuevo, and Santo Semeba Irrigators’ Association, Inc. in Anilao.

The roadshow is led by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) of the Korean Government and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO).

Also present at the event were DA-6 Regional Executive Director Dennis Arpia; Philip Kim, President of FIT Corea Trading Philippines and KAMICO Country Representative; Hokyum Kim, Director of TYM Korea; Sekjin Lee, President of Leshwa Industry; Joel Dator, Director III of PhilMech; and others.