'Kung may planter, wala kang kaba'.(With a planter, you have no worries). This is not a popular line from an advertisement. The statement came from Mr. Reynaldo D. Aradanas, Municipal Agricultural Officer of Binalonan, Pangasinan who has tried the BPRE two-row pneumatic corn planter in his five-hectare corn field.


A corn farmer for more than 35 years, Mr. Aradanas attests to the many benefits of the small-scale corn machinery. 'Sa manwal na pagtatanim, kailangan mo ng 10 hanggang 12 katao sa isang ektaryang maisan isang araw. Kung may corn planter, dalawang tao lang tapos na ang taniman ng isang ektaryang maisan sa kalahating araw lamang.' (In manual planting, you need 10-12 men to plant a hectare of corn field per day. With a corn planter, two persons are enough to plant a hectare of corn field in just half-day).


Less manpower, less work days, less effort, less worry. This is the beauty of mechanical planting according to MAO Aradanas. He also added that with the corn planter, you are assured of one seed per hill and the distance of planting between hills is equal, thus saving on the corn seeds.



Features of the technology




Engr. Ofero Caparino, Chief Science Research Specialist at the Postharvest Engineering Department of BPRE and who is in-charge in the design and development of the BPRE pneumatic corn planter, enumerated the features of the technology.


'The corn planter developed by BPRE can be mounted at the rear of a two-wheel tractor . It uses a pneumatic metering system which enables it to plant any size of corn seeds. It has a rated capacity of 2.5 ha/day at eight hours of operation.'


He also added that,'The planter has a planting assembly, fertilizer applicator assembly and a furrower. The planting assembly can be adjusted for row and hill spacing, seed depth and soil cover. The fertilizer applicator is also adjusted to regulate the fertilizer to be applied based on the requirements of the field. Moreover, the corn planter has a furrower attachment to maximize the utilization of water during the first irrigation after planting.'


Made of locally available materials, the corn planter is estimated to cost P250,000 excluding the tractor. This is cheaper than the imported pneumatic corn planters with similar capacity available in the market today.



Financial viability




BPRE also conducted an initial financial study on the performance of the two-row pneumatic corn planter in two selected cooperatives in Pangasinan. Included in the study were the San Jacinto Kasakalikasan Multi-purpose Cooperative in Sta. Maria, San Jacinto, Pangasinan and the San Pedro Apartado Multi-purpose Cooperative in San Pedro, Apartado, Alcala, Pangasinan.


Dr. Renita SM. Dela Cruz, Chief Science Research Specialist at the Postharvest Systems and Analysis Department of BPRE, revealed that 'the corn planter can best be used when it is integrated into an operating system of a medium sized 25-35 hp tractor with land preparation implements and a trailer that will be used to transport the planter and haul the corn harvest.'


Dela Cruz added that 'the system will require a facility investment of P580,000 (inclusive of a reconditioned tractor, disc plow and trailer) and the investment can be recovered in about 3 1/3 years.'



A view from the manufacturer




The ACT Machineries and Metal Craft Corporation is one of the BPRE-accredited manufacturers of the corn planter. Established on April 22,1986 in Brgy. Turayong, Cauayan City, Isabela, ACT is a dealer of various agri-industrial machineries like gasoline and diesel engines, power tillers, threshers, corn
shellers, rice mills, water pumps and so forth.


Mr. Samuel Babas, Vice President of ACT has these words for the BPRE corn planter, 'Besides its market potential, the technology will be a big help to corn farmers.'


Mr. Babas also said that by localizing the corn technologies, jobs will be created especially in the manufacturing sector. Inspired, he says, 'We are encouraged by BPRE's passion of helping the corn farmers. If we help the farmers, all of us will prosper.'



Prospect in the corn industry




If the positive feedbacks from the technology generators, technology user and accredited manufacturer are indications of the corn planter's general acceptance, there lies a bright prospect for this corn technology in the industry.


The BPRE two-row pneumatic corn planter may be categorized as a small-scale corn technology but it is expected to create a bigger impact among Filipino corn farmers than any large-scale imported pneumatic corn planter with similar capacity in the market today.