President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognized the contributions and sacrifices of all Filipino farmers in strengthening the agriculture sector, hailing them as ‘heroes’ in ensuring food security in the country, as he delivered his speech during the inauguration and turnover of Rice Processing System (RPS) II in the Municipality of Piddig, Ilocos Norte.

Speaking before various farmer associations in Piddig, the President reaffirmed the Administration’s unyielding commitment to consistently create a robust state of agriculture that will be beneficial, not only to the families of farmers, but to the whole nation as well.

“We cannot say it enough that the heroes of the day are our farmers and our fishermen… Kaya ‘yan ang aming kinikilala at nakatitiyak kayo na hangga’t maaari lahat ng maitutulong namin ay itutulong namin sa inyo dahil mahalaga ang inyong ginagawa,” he stressed.

“Sa aking pananaw, kailangan nating kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka. Kailangan talaga tuloy-tuloy naming ginagawa ito para naman mas maganda ang agrikultura dahil minsan nakakalimutan na ang bayani, ang bagong bayani natin dito sa Pilipinas ay ang mga nagtatanim ng palay, lahat ng nagtatanim ng mais, ng high value, lahat ng iba’t ibang produkto,” the President continued.

With the inauguration of the RPS-II, the Chief Executive underscored this project as a huge step to fully achieve a thriving agriculture sector that will continue to serve as the backbone of the country’s prosperous economy, noting that the government prioritizes the streamlining of value chain of agricultural commodities.

“Kailangang buuin ang value chain; mula sa pagsasaka hanggang sa processing hanggang sa marketing. Lahat-lahat dapat buuin natin ng maganda para streamlined ito. Hindi bumubukol ang gastos sa bawat hakbang… This is something that we are very proud of,” he conveyed.

“Asahan niyo na ang inyong pamahalaan ay kasama niyo. At sabihan niyo lang kami, lagi naman kaming bukas at makikinig kung ano ‘yung pangangailangan niyo,” President Marcos Jr. assured the audience.

Spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), the PhP71 million project is a state-of-the-art facility that aims to increase productivity and efficiency of the agriculture sector, as well as promote its competitiveness and sustainability in the Province of Ilocos Norte.

The RPS II consists of various capabilities and machineries including mechanical dryers with drying capacity of 12 tons of rice per batch. It also has a multi-stage rice mill with an input capacity of 2-3 tons of rice per hour and additional components such as whitener, color sorter, length grade and polisher, among others. These are all made possible through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Modernization Program of the PhilMech and DA.

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