Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization
CLSU Compound, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija

NEWS STORIES

Reaping more advocates in crop establishment technologies
by John Lloyd P. Mina (July 16, 2024)
The "Makinaryang Pantanim, Push na ‘Yan sa Palayan" campaign by DA-PHilMech gained more supporters in Negros Occidental after a two-day event–advocacy campaign and a showcase of technologies–in Bacolod and Bago City on July 9-10.

This initiative, a partnership with the provincial government of Negros Occidental, aims to increase the use of precision rice seeders and mechanical transplanters.

Around 92% of campaign participants are non-adopters of crop establishment technologies. The top three reasons mentioned include difficulty in seedling preparation, lack of knowledge on using the machines, and a preference for manual operation.

While the majority of participants were already interested in the said technologies, it is worth noting that their perception of the usability of machines has improved significantly after the campaign. Approximately 61.9 percent of them found the machines easier to use than they initially thought.

Moreover, all of the participants reported acquiring new knowledge about these technologies. They emphasized the importance of precision rice seeder, reduced production costs, and increased yield with mechanical transplanters as the most crucial insights gained from the campaign.

“Nagkainterest din ako sa nalaman kong precision seeder at namangha rin ako sa mga ani ng mga nagsalita sa campaign. Babalik na ako sa mechanical na pagtatanim,” said Ms. Lenie Gerono from Bago City, Negros Occidental.

Interestingly, 98.4 percent of the participants have decided to go to the next level of the campaign which is the showcase of technologies on crop establishment.

What is next for the participants?

Here are some of the thoughts of the participants after the advocacy campaign and the showcase of technologies conducted by PHilMech.

“Sa akin po ay nakatulong ito hindi lang para ma-engganyo ako kundi upang ma-engganyo ko rin ang mga kababayan na gumamit ng makinarya. Ang plano ko po ay mag-conduct ng meeting sa mga coop po para maibahagi ko po ang kaalaman ko sa two-day na activity na ito,” said Mr. Reynaldo Tadios from EB Magalona, Negros Occidental.

“Pag-uwi ko i-aaply ko yung nakuha kong idea sa mga speaker lalo yung sa seedling preparation. Ngayon manual ang tanim ko, pero sa susunod na season susubukan ko nang gumamit ng makinarya,” said Mr. Jonas Generaole of Sipalay, Negros Occidental.

The campaign relies on the rich experience of farmer practitioners to influence other farmers, such as Mr. Gerardo Esteban, Mr. Maurice Padiernos, Mr. Jaime Guico, and Ms. Myrna Villa, who served as resource speakers.