Farmers need aid to work with new technologies–CoA

MANILA, Philippines–The Commission on Audit has reminded a government agricultural agency that farmers do need continuing assistance if they are to effectively use new technologies provided to them.

The CoA also said that the farmers’ readiness, capability, organizational empowerment and eagerness to accept new technologies should be considered in future projects to provide farmers with new devices.

The CoA said it found that over 500 flatbed dryers and 12 cold storage units provided by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) to farmers were underutilized or unutilized in 2010.

But there are glowing success stories as well.

It noted that two farmers’ cooperatives, one of which is a supplier for a top fast-food chain, had benefited from the flatbed dryer and cold-chain facilities provided by PhilMech. The facilities helped preserve the quality of their produce, prolonged the shelf life of their products and reduced their overhead costs.

In fact, these cooperatives are asking for more facilities, and intend to produce more crops, and the CoA said PhilMech should continue to provide them with the needed resources and technical assistance.

The PhilMech, which used to be the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension, is tasked with generating, extending and commercializing agriculture and fishery postharvest and mechanization technologies. It is meant to empower the agriculture and fishery sector by improving efficiency and productivity and reducing losses.

In its 2010 report, the CoA said the farmers given the flatbed dryers should be monitored, coached and assisted so that the use of the devices would be maximized, and the objectives of the program, which are to preserve grain quality and reduce losses, would be attained.

It noted that 411 flatbed dryers were underused while 91 were unused in 2010, based on monitoring reports.

But PhilMech informed the CoA that it had already prepared a sustainability program, under which it would strictly monitor the use of the dryers and provide coaching and mentoring services to address the reluctance of some beneficiaries to use the new technology.

The program also provides for continuing education and technical assistance to the farmers. The dryers that remain unutilized would also be taken, it added.

It also conducted its own analysis and found that over a million bags of wet palay (unmilled rice) were dried using the flatbed dryers. It said that while the technology was introduced only in 2008, seven percent of recipients had a utilization rate of above 40 percent. Of the total number of recipients, two percent had used the technology beyond its expected capacity.

But the CoA said PhilMech could still increase the utilization rate of the flatbed dryers if it would continue to conduct site inspection, coaching and monitoring.

“Recipients need assurance that technical assistance will be readily available if ever any problems occurred in their operation,” it said.

It added that based on the comments of recipients, they still need the presence of PhilMech experts.

Meanwhile, the CoA also found that 10  multipurpose cooperatives that received cold storage units failed to do their part in 2010, which was installing a three-phase power supply to make the cold storage operational.

This resulted in 12 units of cold-storage facilities worth P10.8 million being unused for that year.

The CoA said PhilMech should compel the recipients to do their part. Otherwise, the facilities should be pulled out and given to other beneficiaries.

PhilMech, in response, said it had already discussed the matter with the recipients and reminded them of their obligations, and also conducted regional conferences on enterprise development and utilization in relation to the cold-storage facilities.

It also pulled out the non-operational facilities and transferred them to more deserving recipients.