LEGAZPI CITY –– Thirty-one farmers associations across the Bicol region received P54.3 million worth of farm machinery under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Turned over were 29 units of rice combine harvester worth P43.9 million; seven riding type transplanter amounting to P8 million; five walk-behind transplanters worth P1.6 million; and eight rice reapers amounting to P857,000, said Rodel Tornilla, director of DA in Bicol.
Tornilla said it was part of the P10 billion RCEF aimed at modernizing the farming system in Bicol.
He said the initial 31 farmer-beneficiaries were chosen from 872 farmers associations accredited by DA in Bicol. Half of this or 380 farmers’ associations are in Camarines Sur province.