00:00Rice farmers in Skansen's worry of drying their unhusked grains during the wet season
00:05and over their bottom lines thereafter need not fret or stress anymore.
00:10A cool-looking gizmo that is a state-of-the-art multi-rice mill with the capacity to process
00:16up to three tons of unhusked rice or palay ensures farmer profitability on their crop
00:22yield.
00:23Our Bien Manalo tells us more on the President's Il Locos Norte visit today to unveil this
00:29godsend machinery that has rice farmers everywhere all excited.
00:34At an early age, 62-year-old Benemerito de los Reyes was already introduced by his parents
00:42to farming.
00:43Farming is his only way to support his family and to send his children to school.
00:48But Benemerito can't help himself from worrying each day on the chances of rain because drying
00:54rice takes longer and harder when it rains and the ground is wet.
00:58However, he said that the new rice processing center provided by the government will be
01:04a great help for rice farmers like him.
01:28Benemerito was only one of the farmer beneficiaries who attended the inauguration and turned over
01:43ceremony of the rice processing system in Barangay Ababut Pidig, Il Locos Norte presided
01:49on by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
01:52The new rice processing system features a state-of-the-art multi-stage rice mill with
01:57a capacity of 2 to 3 tons of rice per hour that costs P56.5 million pesos.
02:03This new farm machinery has two recirculating dryers with 12 ton per batch drying capacity
02:09each worth P8.1 million pesos.
02:12Besides this, the cooperative received other farm machinery worth P6.4 million pesos.
02:19The total cost of assistance distributed by the government reached over P70 million pesos
02:24for farmer beneficiaries of Il Locos Norte.
02:27The aim of the program is to increase the yield or production of rice in the country,
02:32increase the income of farmers, and reduce rice prices in the country.
02:37The heroes of the day are our farmers and our fishermen.
02:40This government's project was made possible in partnership with the Philippine Center
03:00for Post-Harvest Development and Mechanization or PHILMEC, which is at the forefront of promoting
03:06the rice competitiveness and enhancement FUD or RCEF.
03:11To help ensure sustained food security in the country, the Solvec Small Reservoir Irrigation
03:16Project was also inaugurated in Barangay Sapat, Pasukin, Ilocos Norte.
03:21The P334 million peso Solvec Small Reservoir Irrigation Project covers over a 700 hectare
03:27service area that will provide sustainable development to over 1,000 farmers in 10 barangays
03:33in Pasukin.
03:34The SRIP features the 32 meters earth filled dam, which is the first impounding dam in
03:39the province.
03:40The project aims to further increase agricultural production through more irrigated areas, ramp
03:46of flood control, increased electricity supply, and a relentless promotion of tourism in the
03:52province.
03:53This project is part of the administration's efforts to diversify and develop country's
03:58water resources.
04:00This project is a testament to Filipino mark of excellence, which has contributed significantly
04:06to our efforts in rebuilding our nation and providing a better environment for the next
04:12generations.
04:14The project was implemented with the cooperation of the government agencies, including the
04:19National Irrigation Administration and the Department of Agriculture.
04:24BN Manalo, from the National TV Network, for a new and better Philippines.
