Twenty-three rice farmers around Davao Region have been upskilled in the operations of Drying and Milling Technologies under the Rice Services Extension Program by the Department of Agriculture-PhilMech in cooperation with the TESDA RTC-KorPhil Davao on November 26-28, 2024.
The participants came from the Farmers and Cooperative Associations (FCA) from Davao del Norte, Davao Del Oro, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental who are set to receive post-harvest technologies from the Mechanization Program component of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) under the Rice Tarrification Law.
With the lectures held in Molave Hotel in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, the participating farmers learned about the anatomy and physical properties of rice grains in relation to post harvest operations, grains quality deterioration and its prevention, and principles and systems of drying and milling.
The hands-on took in the Gravity Irrigators Sustainable Agriculture Cooperative (GISACO) at Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte allowing the participants to have actual encounters with the various machineries including the mechanical dryers, single pass and multi-stage rice millers, deepening their understanding on their operations, performance monitoring and maintenance schedules.
The said training reflected the shared responsibility of DA-PhliMech and TESDA XI in the under the RCEF-RESP in providing skills training for the farmers in Davao Region. The farmers were enrolled in TESDA under the monitoring program in the skills training entitled Post-Harvest Technology: Drying and Milling, which are two core competencies in the Rice Machinery Operations NC II.
