In a strategic move to industrialize the country’s rice production and expand farmers’ access to value-added markets, the Department of Agriculture rolled out P95.1 million worth of farm equipment and post-harvest systems in Nueva Ecija, signaling a shift from subsistence farming to scalable agri-business.

The new investment — highlighted by a state-of-the-art Rice Processing System (RPS) valued at over P64 million and complemented by P31.1 million worth of tractors and harvesters — is expected to enhance operational efficiency for more than 6,000 rice farmers across nearly 10,000 hectares of farmland.

By improving farmers’ ability to mill, package, and market their produce, the DA aims to reduce post-harvest losses while increasing income margins.

Funded through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), the RPS can process up to three metric tons of palay per hour and represents a wider thrust to modernize the country’s agri value chain.

“This isn’t just machinery. It’s the lifeline of a more modern, self‑reliant agriculture sector,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in a forum in Nueva Ecija.

The RCEF’s allocation, he added, will triple to P30 billion from 2026 to 2031 to bring similar systems and additional support to other rice-producing provinces.

Beyond equipment, the DA also introduced mobile soil laboratories —one for each of the country’s 16 regions — as part of a data-driven approach to optimize yield and input efficiency.