The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) is nearing the completion of its 2025 farm machinery rollout after delivering nearly three-fourths of the equipment procured under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

The agency reported on Monday that it so far deployed 1,731 farm machines, or nearly 76 percent of the 2,289 units procured under the 2025 RCEF allocation as of the end of June.

The deliveries benefited 1,238 farmers' cooperatives, associations and local government units.

The latest batch included 900 four-wheel tractors, 700 combine harvesters, 95 recirculating dryers and 36 precision seeders designed to reduce reliance on manual labor, speed up farm operations, and minimize postharvest losses.

"Every machine we deploy helps farmers produce more with less," PhilMech Executive Director Dionisio G. Alvindia said. "Mechanization lowers labor costs, speeds up critical farm operations and minimizes losses from planting to postharvest. These improvements translate directly into higher productivity, better grain quality and increased incomes for our rice farmers."

According to government data, the continued deployment has helped raise the country's rice farm mechanization level to 2.81 horsepower per hectare by the end of 2025, from 2.68 hp/ha in 2022.

PhilMech expects the figure to reach 3.40 hp/ha as the RCEF mechanization program progresses, bringing the country closer to the mechanization levels of its regional peers.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said mechanization is central to building a more efficient and resilient rice industry.

"We are building an integrated system that enables farmers to harvest more efficiently, dry and mill their palay properly, reduce waste and earn more from every crop," Tiu Laurel said. 

"Mechanization is also becoming increasingly important as our farming population ages. Modern equipment allows our farmers to continue cultivating their land with less physical strain while helping address labor shortages during planting and harvest."

Since the RCEF mechanization program began in 2019, PhilMech has distributed a total of 34,721 production and postharvest machines nationwide, including this year's deliveries.

A PhilMech study involving 895 farmers' cooperatives and 5,428 farmers across 57 provinces found the program reduced labor costs by about P2 per kilogram of palay, increasing farmers' income by roughly P9,000 per hectare.

Across farms covered by RCEF, the agency estimated this translates to P2.66 billion in additional annual income. Mechanization has also prevented an estimated 31,841 metric tons of postharvest losses each year, equivalent to around P541.3 million worth of rice.