Farm mechanization
DON’T look now, but the government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. continues to work hard to achieve food security by mechanizing rice farming in the Philippines.
Since assuming the top political post of the land on June 30, 2022, President Marcos has been pushing for farm mechanization as part of his efforts to modernize agriculture.
Speaking in Filipino, the crusading Ilocano Chief Executive from Ilocos Norte said “food security is our priority. We want to ensure there would be enough food for our countrymen.”
President Marcos made the announcement in a speech during last Wednesday’s launching of South Cotabato’s rice production and modernization in Koronadal City.
Dubbed the “Consolidated Rice Production and Mechanization Program,” the project is aimed at reducing by half the production and labor costs incurred by the province’s rice farmers.
Marcos said the government, through concerned offices, “is continuously working to lower the price of rice and at the same increase the income of Filipino farmers through better yield.”
Today, the Philippines imports rice from Thailand and Vietnam whose agriculturists used to study at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Banos, Laguna.
Founded back in the 1960s, IRRI is the world’s premier non-profit agricultural research organization, with offices in 17 rice-growing countries in Asia and Africa.
Without doubt, the Marcos government is doing a great job in its efforts to achieve food security by modernizing Philippine agriculture.
Truth is, more and more Filipino farm workers, particularly rice farmers, now use the many wonders of modern technology, like tractors, to increase their yield.
