Filipino farmers and fisher folks have a new reason to celebrate as PHilMech inaugurates its latest center, the Agricultural Machinery Design and Prototyping Center (AMDPC), at its main office in Nueva Ecija on December 7.

The AMDPC aims to address existing challenges in the country's agriculture and fisheries sector. In collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), this joint project incorporates state-of-the-art technologies to fabricate farm machines and parts, benefiting local manufacturers in the process.

Lee Sang-Hwa, the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to the Philippines, emphasized that the AMDPC represents a significant stride in redefining Filipino agriculture through locally manufactured machines.

“Through KOICA, the Korean Government supports the agriculture sector of the Philippines by making farmers more competitive and helping them increase their crop yield using top-notch machinery. This event is yet another illustration of the long-standing cooperation and partnership between Korea and The Philippines,” said the Ambassador.

“With KOICA’s support, this project aims to modernize farming by enhancing PHilMech’s farm machine production. It’s not only going to benefit PHilMech but also strengthen local machine manufacturers by fostering new technologies for affordable machines. The AMDPC – a novel facility for crafting farming machinery – signals a transformative leap in Filipino agro-business,” he added.

KOICA Vice President Lee Yun-Young expressed confidence in the AMDPC's significant contribution to accelerating agricultural mechanization in the Philippines. He highlighted that the project, initiated in 2020, is geared towards providing farmers with better access to affordable and high-quality agricultural machines manufactured locally.

“The project is expected to invent at least 12 technologies. More than 300 local agriculture machinery manufacturers and distributors are expected to benefit from these technologies due to capacity building and project partnerships. It is also expected that the local farmer stakeholders will also benefit from the project through easy access to local manufacturers,” he added.

In his inaugural visit to the heart of postharvest and mechanization, newly appointed Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. commended the multi-million US-dollar state-of-the-art facility, stating, “I believe that this facility can revolutionize the way we see agricultural machinery production today. With modern fabrication equipment and top engineering design and simulation software, what more efficient machines can we not produce?”

“At the end of the day, we expand our horizons, reach out to the world, and transcend boundaries to ensure that the quality of life of every Filipino farmer and fisherman is improved and that every Filipino family will have enough healthy food on their table,” he added, expressing gratitude to the Republic of Korea, through KOICA, for their generosity in supporting Filipino farmers.

Engr. Arlene C. Joaquin, PHilMech’s project leader for the AMDPC, introduced the center to the esteemed guests and stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of training selected local manufacturers by the Technology Advice and Solutions from Korea (TASK) to fully realize their goal of improving manufacturing through the center.

The center is anticipated to benefit local manufacturers, state universities and colleges, research and development institutions, and other agricultural machinery users, ultimately impacting Filipino farmers and fisher folks and providing them with a new reason to celebrate Philippine agriculture.