Farmers to manage Pangasinan RPC
STA. BARBARA—Pangasinan farmers can begin to hope for better prices for their produce regardless of the season now that the operation and management of the Pangasinan Rice Processing Complex located in Barangay Tebag East in this town have been turned over to them.
According to Gov. Amado Espino Jr., after three years of National Agribusiness Corporation’s (NABCOR) unsuccessful management, the RPC operation, starting October 1, 2014, will be under the control of the farmers organizations with the hope of increasing the farmers’ income.
Last week, the provincial government and the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office I (DA-RFO I) led the turnover of the facility to the ALBACOPA Federation of Cooperatives (ALBACOPA) and Pangasinan Federation of Irrigator’s Association (PFIA).
Oftociano Manalo, PFIA president said the RPC will help protect their revenues because it will seek to compete with private traders.
Espino, however, advised the farmers to learn their lesson and limit the varieties of rice being produced to ensure better control and quality.
In response, Manalo said only three to four varieties will be planted and considered the new responsibility as both “a blessing and a challenge.”
According to DA-RFO I Director Valentino Perdido, the Pangasinan RPC is only one of the four facilities in the country obtained from the country of Korea to improve efficiency in rice production system of the country through the reduction of post-harvest losses.
Other RPCs are in Bohol, Davao, and Iloilo but Pangasinan RPC is the first RPC to be turned over to the farmers. (Johanne R. Macob/PNA)
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