STA. BARBARA–Rice sufficiency in the country can be expected in 2013 with the completion of six rice processing complex (RPC) projects in the country, one of which will be in Pangasinan.

The ceremonial groundbreaking was held Thursday for the P196-million modern facility being built here through a grant from the Korean government through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Construction work already started a month ago, but the ceremony was held only last week with the visit of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap; Kim In, the KOICA country representative; 3rd District Rep. Rachel Arenas. Also present were Governor Amado Espino Jr. and Sta. Barbara Mayor Reynaldo Velasco.

Yap said the project will increase the value of milled rice by P24 million per year and stabilize supply and farm gate price of the staple in the project areas.

Kim In said the project in Pangasinan will be among the four RPCs to be built under Phase II of the Korea-Philippines Modern Integrated Rice Milling and Complex.

Phase I, completed in 2006, is in Aurora province. The other projects under Phase II, with a total cost of $13 million, will be built in Pilar, Bohol; Pototan, Iloilo; and Matanao in Davao del Sur.

Pangasinan was not required to produce a financial counterpart, except for the lot where the project is now being constructed.

Arenas hailed the project because it will be a big boon to the third district, a predominantly agricultural area.

Velasco, for his part, said Sta. Barbara is very lucky for its selection as one of the sites of the multi-million-peso project.

KOICA’s representative said the goal of all of these projects is to increase the income of rice farmers and at the same time contribute in achieving rice self-sufficiency in the Philippines in four years.

The RPCs will improve the efficiency of rice production, storage, drying, and processing system by reducing post-harvest losses while improving the quality of rice grains for human consumption and seed purposes.

Espino said the RPC will produce whole grain of unbroken rice after undergoing the milling process, similar to the rice being exported by Thailand to Europe and other countries.

He added that with the RPC’s capacity to dry palay grains before processing, farmers can do away with the practice of drying grains in concrete pavements, including road sides anymore.

“What is very crucial here is that the project is located in the center of Pangasinan, which makes it very accessible to all farmers from east and west, north and south,” Espino said.  —LM

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