PHilMech deploys 1,700 farm machines as rice farmers face rising costs

The mechanization rollout aims to boost productivity, but many farmers continue to struggle with high production costs, limited irrigation, and low returns.

Rice farmers are receiving more agricultural machinery, but many say tractors and harvesters alone will not solve the deeper problems that continue to keep local agriculture uncompetitive.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) said it distributed 1,731 farm machines nationwide in the first half of 2026 under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), benefiting 1,238 farmers’ cooperatives, associations, and local government units.

The rollout included 900 four-wheel tractors, 700 combine harvesters, 95 mechanical dryers, and 36 precision seeders aimed at reducing labor costs, shortening harvest time, and minimizing postharvest losses.

Still, many long-standing challenges remain beyond the reach of farm machinery.

Farmers continue to grapple with rising fertilizer and fuel prices, limited irrigation, expensive farm inputs, climate-related crop losses, and volatile farmgate prices that often leave them earning little even with higher productivity.

Agricultural groups have long argued that mechanization works best when paired with investments in irrigation, affordable credit, crop insurance, and stronger price support to ensure gains from modern equipment translate into sustainable incomes.

Since the mechanization program began in 2019, PHilMech has deployed 34,721 production and postharvest machines across the country.

The agency estimated that mechanization has reduced labor expenses by around ₱2 per kilogram of palay, increased farmers’ income by roughly ₱9,000 per hectare, and prevented more than 31,000 metric tons of postharvest losses annually.

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