President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday led the inauguration of a P61.7 million Rice Processing System (RPS) in this rice-producing town, marking the fifth such facility established in the province of Pampanga under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Designated as RPS 2, the newly inaugurated facility features a multi-stage rice mill with a capacity of up to 3 tons per hour, equipped with state-of-the-art machinery: a pre-cleaner, de-stoner, huller, mist polisher, length grader, color sorter, blending tank, and automatic packing machine. It also includes a dust-collection system and an air-conditioned control room, ensuring safe, efficient, and clean operations. Complementing the mill are two recirculating dryers, each capable of handling 12 tons per batch, allowing for continuous, weather-independent drying.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who accompanied President Marcos at the event, hailed the project as a vital step in strengthening local food systems and boosting farmers productivity and income.
“This facility underscores the Marcos administration’s commitment to modernizing postharvest systems and sustaining Pampanga’s role as one of the country’s leading rice-producing provinces,” he said.
The facility will be managed by local farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs). The five RPS in Pampanga will benefit 36,060 rice farmers cultivating nearly 60,000 hectares of farmland.
Nationwide, 151 RPS units have been completed under RCEF 1.0—145 of them under the Marcos administration, reflecting its strong push for agricultural modernization.
“By integrating appropriate postharvest technologies, we ensure farmers get more value for their crops and reduce their losses,” Tiu Laurel added.
Pampanga FCAs are also set to receive 28 four-wheel tractors and 13 rice combine harvesters under the 2025 RCEF Mechanization Program, further boosting farm efficiency and sustainability.
RCEF, created under the Rice Tariffication Law, allotted annually P5 billion between 2019 and 2024 to the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization to provide rice farmers with farm equipment such as tillers, seeders, tractors, and rice mills. The allocation for PhilMech was raised to P9 billion a year through 2031 under the amended RTL.
Machineries and postharvest facilities are expected to reduce production cost by at least P2 per kilo and reduce post-production losses by as much as 5 percent—putting more money in local rice farmers’ pockets.
