Korean-funded rice processing centers to be built in the country
Posted on May 31st, 2009
The Philippine government is contributing P136 million to kick off aKorea-funded project involving the construction of four rice processing centers (RPCs) to reduce post-harvest losses in key areas all over the Philippines.
Undersecretary Berna Romulo Puyat of the Department of Agriculture said in a statement that the department will contribute P104 million to the project.
An additional P32 million will be sourced from the local government units involved in the construction of the RPCs.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has already approved a P649 million grant for the construction of the P785-million RPCs project.
The department’s contribution to the project will take care of the inland transportation, taxes and project management, while the fund from LGUs will be used for site development, Puyat said.
She said the construction of the modern RPCs will increase incomes for 5,160 farmer-beneficiaries combined by reducing their post-production losses, enhancing the quality of their milled rice, improving distribution systems and maximizing rice by-products.
The RPCs will cover 9,292 hectares. Their presence will create 2,737 jobs during the construction phase of the project and another 4,627 jobs for the next 15 years once they operate, according to the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension.
The RPCs, to be constructed simultaneously over the next two years, will be built in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan; Pototan, Iloilo; Pilar, Bohol; and Matanao, Davao del Sur.
Puyat said the Philippines and South Korea recently formalized their commitment to build the four RPCs as part of ongoing efforts by the Arroyo administration to ensure the adequate domestic supply of rice and at affordable prices for low-income families and boost the incomes of farmers.
A team of inspectors from KOICA recently visited the country for an assessment mission on the budgetary requirements and mode of implementation for the construction of the rice complexes.
Puyat said the establishment of the four RPCs in the Philippines follows the successful implementation of the first RPC in Baler, Aurora in 2007, which was built through a $2.3 million grant from KOICA.
This second wave of RPCs in the Philippines will benefit 40 of the country’s palay-growing provinces, she said.
In Korea, the construction of 328 RPCs and 568 drying and storage complexes was said to have reduced working hours by 64 percent and operating costs by 34 percent, while cutting postproduction losses from 6 percent to 1 percent.
