The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) through its Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED) continually conducts inventory of farm machinery, equipment, and facilities in the region to collect and compile baseline information on the mechanization of the country pursuant to the Memorandum Order from the Secretary No. 29 series of 2019.
Over the years, farm machinery such as tractors, seeders, threshers, and combine harvesters were distributed to farmers’ cooperatives and associations to boost farm efficiency, ensure timeliness of farm operations, reduce unit costs, increase productivity and crop yields, and improve land usage.
This will serve as a benchmark in determining the gap and level of mechanization of a particular commodity, thereby facilitating the efficient planning, programming, and resource allocation on mechanization interventions from fiscal year 2023 onwards.
The inventory covers both private and government-funded, individually or collectively owned and operated machines and equipment which started in Kalinga this October. For a more efficient operation, the DA-CAR RAED headed by Engr. Filemon Salvador is encouraging the farmers to cooperate and participate in the said activity, and for the barangay governments to help locate and identify their constituents who own such equipment.
Data about the machinery’s technical profile include the year acquired/funded, cost, and fund source; farm operation whether used for land preparation, planting, irrigation, spraying, harvesting, processing, etc.; geographic location; beneficiary’s profile; status of the equipment; and training needs of the owner or operator were being acquired. Each equipment/machinery are being tagged with stickers.
This activity is in coordination with the DA-Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering, the Office of the Provincial Agricultural Services, and the Office of the Municipal Agricultural Services. By LDMendoza