THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Friday it has turned over P317-million worth of agriculture-related projects to farmers in the Caraga region.
Included in the projects recently distributed by Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala are two AgriPinoy Rice Processing Centers (RPC), which are located in the municipality of San Francisco and Trento in Agusan del Sur.
The P37.29-million AgriPinoy RPC III in Pisaan, San Francisco was given to Agus Pinoy Producers Cooperative.
RPC III will cover all areas in Caraga that produce rice, but is specifically more concentrated in the municipalities of Agusan del Sur, such as San Francisco, Rosario, Properidad, Talacogon, La Paz, San Luis, Esperanza, Bunawan and Bayugan City, the DA said.
Meanwhile, the P17-million AgriPinoy RPC II in Trento, Agusan del Sur, was turned over to First Trento Community Multipurpose Cooperative. It will cover 10,000 hectares of rice and corn areas in the municipalities of Trento, Santa Josefa, Veruela, Bunawan and Loreto.
The rice processing center is aimed reduce the quality deterioration and postharvest losses by providing access to efficient drying and milling facilities in currently underserved rice production areas, according to the DA. The DA said the establishment of the rice processing centers was implemented through its collaboration with the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), National Food Authority and local government units.
Alcala also inaugurated the P4.25-million Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) in the DA’s Trento Research and Experiment Station. RCPC will serve as a diagnostic clinic for pests and diseases, and shall provide recommendation for its control and management.
“The establishment of the facility will surely help us farmers in knowing the safety measures in pest management. Here we foresee a reduction of pesticide usage, but still achieve optimum crop production,” Alcala said in a statement.