ACTIVITY: ABP 32d – AB Machinery and Mechanization

Republic of the Philippines

Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro 5205

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING

ABP 32d: AB MACHINERY AND MECHANIZATION

Researcher : Rivera, Arman M.

Research Paper on:

A. Policies, Programs and Strategies of Agricultural Mechanization in the
Philippines
Introduction

Government laws and policies influence the country’s development direction.

Laws and policies provide directions for the nation’s economy, trade, agricultural,
industry and other sectors of the society. Many nations have flourished and developed
because of the strong government commitment and political will in formulating and
implementing policies.

In the Philippines, there is now an increasing awareness among Filipino farmers

on the advantages of utilizing mechanization technologies in the agricultural
production system. Moreover, government policies on agriculture are now gearing
towards food self-sufficiency and security to the adoption and utilization of
technologies to improve land, crop and labor productivity.

Republic Act 10601 also known as the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization
Law of 2013 (AfMech Law) has strengthened the commitment of the government to
enhance the adoption and utilization of agricultural mechanization technologies to
modernize the agricultural sector and to be at par with the ASEAN neighbors. It is
hope that the AfMech Law will aggressively push the implementation of a sustainable
agricultural mechanization to increase the agricultural production towards ensuring
food sufficiency, safety and security. This will also prepare the country for integration
among ASEAN countries and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Agricultural Setting

The Philippines is still an agricultural country where abundant agricultural raw

materials are produced food, feed and industrial applications. About 32% (9.671 M
has) of the total land area of 29.817 million hectares is under intensive cultivation,
where 51% and 44% are arable and permanent croplands, respectively. In 2014, the
major agricultural land utilization by area harvested is devoted to palay, corn,
sugarcane, mango, tobacco, cassava and onions (BAS, 2014).
 ACTIVITY: ABP 32d – AB Machinery and Mechanization

One of more than 100 M population of Filipinos with 2.96% growth rate in 2014
(NSCB, 2014), about 86% lives in the rural areas. Seventy-five percent of them
depend on agriculture for employment and income. Although about 31% of the
employment share comes from agriculture and the crops subsector has increase its
gross value by about 14.52% more than the 2013 level (BAS,2014), many Filipinos
remain unemployed or underemployed.

Food security can be attained with the use of appropriate, gender-sensitive

technologies. In recent years, the application of mechanization technologies has been
regarded as important contributor to modernize Philippine agriculture. The application
of environment-friendly and suitable technologies can possibly enhance the
agricultural uplands, hilly production system. The use of modern agricultural
production system technologies will, among others, enable the agricultural sector to
fully utilize farm products and by-products; cultivate lands, swamplands and other
non-arable lands on a sustained basis; intensify and diversify farming systems which
will, in turn, generate employment; conserve or even earn foreign currencies through
local manufacturing and export of these technologies; reduce or minimize postharvest
losses; increase the value added to farm products through secondary and tertiary
processing; reduce pressures in the environment that would in turn achieve food
security.

Past policies on Agricultural Mechanization

 Republic Act No. 3927- An Act to Regulate the Practice of Agricultural

Engineering in the Philippines or the “Philippine Agricultural Engineering Law”
(Approved on June 18, 1964)

 Republic Act No. 8559 - An Act Regulating The Practice of Agricultural

Engineering Philippines Act of 1998 or the “Philippine Agricultural Engineering
Act of 1998” (Approved on February 6, 1998)

 Republic Act 8435 - Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997

Past Policies Supporting the Implementation of Land Consolidation/Contiguous

Farming

 Republic Act No. 6657 - An act instituting a comprehensive agrarian reform

program to promote social justice and industrialization, providing the mechanism
for its implementation, and for other purposes June 10, 1988.
 Executive Order No. 129-A - Modifying Executive Order No. 129 Reorganizing
and Strengthening the Department of Agrarian Reform and for other Purposes
 Letter of Instructions No. 650 of Pres. Marcos dated Jan 5, 1978 - In the Letter of
instruction addressed to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, Chairman, Board of
Directors, Land Bank of the Philippines President, Land Bank of the Philippines
 Letter of Instructions No. 253 of Pres. Marcos dated Feb 19, 1975 - The
following statements related to land consolidation were stipulated in the letter of
 ACTIVITY: ABP 32d – AB Machinery and Mechanization

instruction addressed to the Secretary of Agrarian Reform; Chairman, Board of

Trustees, Land Bank of the Philippines; and President, Land Bank of the
Philippines.
 Letter of Instructions No. 370 of Pres. Marcos dated Feb 3, 1976 - The subject
matter was the order to the Land Bank for the acquisition of the Jacinto Estate in
Nueva Ecija; and the Department of Agrarian Reform to undertake land
consolidation thereat.
General Mechanization Policy Direction

 Mechanization that promotes optimum use of labour or increases productivity

rather than displaces labour, to be developed and encouraged.
 Local production of appropriate farm tools and equipment to be supported.
 Agro-based employment opportunities among the rural population, particularly
the landless workers, to be created/in- creased; agro-industries to be encouraged.
 Post-harvest technology to be developed further and disseminated.
Research and Development Strategy

 Top priority research areas to be in agricultural and rural development with

emphasis on technologies for increased productivity and on employment
generation in the agro-industries/allied agricultural enterprises which support
agriculture.
 The Agricultural Mechanization Development Programme, now under the
College of Engineering and Agro-industrial Technology, to be institutionalized
for R&D of agricultural machinery development and of mechanization
technologies under the national network.
 Machinery need identification and demand surveys to be conducted for each
province or region.
 Machinery research and development to emphasize adaptation of existing designs
from local and foreign sources; they are to be tested, evaluated and modified if
necessary, to suit local conditions.
 Developed machinery to be deliberately extended to manufacturers and
popularized through the national network system.

Conclusion

Mechanization is a crucial input for agricultural crop production and one that
historically has been neglected in the context of developing countries. Factors that
reduce the availability of farm power compromise the ability to cultivate sufficient
land and have long been recognized as a source of poverty. Increasing the power
supply to agriculture means that more tasks can be completed at the right time and
greater areas can be farmed to produce greater quantities of crops while conserving
natural resources. Applying new technologies that are environmentally friendly
enables farmers to produce crops more efficiently by using less power.

Sustainable agricultural mechanization can also contribute significantly to the

 ACTIVITY: ABP 32d – AB Machinery and Mechanization

development of value chains and food systems as it has the potential to render
postharvest, processing, and marketing activities and functions more efficient,
effective, and environmentally friendly.

B. Agricultural and Fishery Mechanization Law

Republic Act 10601: Improving the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector through
Mechanization

Farm mechanization can enhance the efficiency of both land and labor, inputs that
are vital in sustaining food production and increasing farm income. However, despite
the various innovations in mechanization technologies in the Philippines, the country
lagged behind other Asian countries in terms of mechanical power at 1.68 hp/ha
(Amongo, 2011). in 2009, PCAARRD (formerly Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Forestry and Natural resources Research and Development or PCAARRD) reported
that the different farming activities of selected crops were predominantly operated at
low mechanization level.

In the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture (DA) was mandated by the

Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) of 1997 to give priority to the
development and promotion of appropriate agricultural machinery and other
agricultural mechanization technologies, to enhance agricultural mechanization in the
countryside. To fully realize this, Republic Act no. 10601 or the Agricultural and
Fisheries mechanization (AfMech) was signed into law by President Benigno Simeon
C. Aquino III on June 05, 2013.

The Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization (AfMech) Law

Agricultural and fisheries mechanization refers to the development, adoption,

assembly, manufacture and application of appropriate, location specific and cost-
effective agricultural and fisheries machinery using human, animal, mechanical,
electrical, renewable and other nonconventional sources of energy for agricultural
production and postharvest/postproduction operations consistent with agronomic
conditions and for efficient and economic farm and fishery management towards
modernization of Agricultural and Fisheries.

RA 10601 covers research, development, and extension (RDE), promotion,

distribution, supply, assembling, manufacturing, regulation, use, operation,
maintenance and project implementation of agricultural and fisheries machinery and
equipment.

Prohibited Acts under AfMech

RA 10601 provisions stipulates different unlawful activities that may be

committed by an individual. The acts include among others (a) selling, mortgaging
and leasing of agricultural and fishery machinery without being registered with the
BAFE; (b) the selling of agricultural and fishery machinery without warranty or after-
 ACTIVITY: ABP 32d – AB Machinery and Mechanization

sales service; (c) claiming of ownership to an agricultural and fishery that has not
been properly registered in his or her name; and (d) operating a testing center without
proper accreditation.

Conclusion

To date, the Department of Agricultural through the PhilMech has conducted

several public consultations in the three island groups (Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao) of the country regarding the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of
the AfMech. RA 10601 is viewed to improve the lives of the Filipino farmers and
fisherfolk. The modernization of Agriculture through mechanization is seen as a
mechanism to improve the efficiency of production and to promote cost-effective
technologies thereby enhancing the meager farm income. With the passage of
AfMech law, harmonization of efforts of various institutions and RDE projects related
to agriculture and fisheries mechanization is deemed attainable.