Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Philippine Center for Postharvest
Development and Mechanization
CLSU Compound, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija
(044) 4560-213, od@philmech.gov.ph

NEWS STORIES

All Set for APSAM Field Visit
by Joanna Aquin R. Hofileña (September 17, 2026)
In preparation for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (APSAM) in November, representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) HQ/NSP, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), and FAO Philippines (FAO PH) visited the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) today, September 17, 2026, as part of their Planning Mission to the Philippines.

PHilMech Director III Joel V. Dator, on behalf of Director IV Dr. Dionisio G. Alvindia, welcomed the delegates to the Rice Granary of the Philippines and to the agency. Jett Molech G. Subaba, Chairperson of the Documentation and Other Substantive Matters Committee, introduced the attendees to PHilMech’s mandates, as well as the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program and the Youth for Mechanization initiatives of the agency.

Chairperson of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Special Events, Field Trip, Exhibits, and Gifts Committee Engr. Domingo R. Miranda presented the preparatory plans and outlined the activities for the APSAM participants’ field visit on November 26. The group then discussed logistical arrangements and outstanding concerns with the PHilMech team and the DA Transportation and Security Committee.

The team also visited the various planned field-visit sites around PHilMech, led by Dr. Rodelio G. Idago of the Steering Committee, to inspect the venues and assess the allotted time for each station.

Attendees of the planning mission and field visit included Josef Kienzle and Mayling Flores Rojas of FAO HQ; Bo Zhou, Tiy Chung, Mahina Hussain, and Romeo Labios of FAO RAP; Gretchen Montejo, Dawnavie Dadis, and Ramona Anne Ortiz of FAO PH; Angelo Mendoza of the DA Steering Committee Secretariat; Engr. Francis Glenn M. Miro of the Sub-Committee on Exhibits; and Engr. Emmanuel R. Lanuza, Danilo Morzo, Junrey Lardizabal, Ritchie Espiritu, John Rommel Lopez, and Ronald Jayson Piring of the Transportation and Security Committee.