LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, (PNA)– Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan called on farmers to mechanize as “mechanization is very vital because it enhances opportunities.”
Speaking during the soft opening of the five-day Makina Saka Agri Machinery Road Show here at Sison Auditorium on Monday,Baraan said that it is about time to shift from the traditional farming methods and make farming more profitable with the aid of modern technology and machinery.
The provincial administrator pointed out that for bigger productivity, idle lands must now be utilized through the use of modern machinery.
Baraan said that with the onset of modern age, industriousness and patience no longer suffice agricultural productivity but rather must be dealt with the right perspective in farming.
“There is no one-shot deal here. We all need to work together and unite under one purpose to attain our goal to achieve agricultural productivity and sufficiency,” he said.
The five-day road show which will be on till October 4 is a convergence of some 2,000 farmers and farm advocates from all over Luzon.
Dr. Valentino C. Perdido, officer-in-charge of the office of the Regional Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture Region I, said that the road show presentation is part of the national government’s medium-term goal towards the achievement of full-staple mechanization scheme.
There are three roadshow clusters this year, according to Perdido, which covers the areas of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
“By the end of this five-day event, may all of you learn from the lectures and eventually apply or adopt the new technologies to further enhance quality of production and prevent post-harvest losses,” Perdido said.
Furthermore, Engr. Rex L. Bingabing, Regional Executive Director of the Phil. Mechanization and Post- Harvest Development Center (PhilMech), said that the need to promote farm mechanization in the country is very vital.
Bingabing disclosed that at present, the level of mechanization in the Philippines is at 1.2 horsepower per hectare which is way behind other Asian countries like Thailand which has a mechanization level of 2.7 horsepower per hectare.
The expo’s main program will be held on October 1 with no-less than the Secretary of Agriculture Proceso J. Alcala as guest of honor and speaker.
Lectures are scheduled during the five-day roadshow at the Provincial Training and Development Center where a wide array of various agricultural machineries are displayed.
The 2,000 participants specifically came from came from Regions I, II,III, IV-A, IV-B, and CAR.