Korea-PHL Rice Processing Plant starts operation
STA.BARBARA—The P200 million modern Korea-Philippines Rice Processing Complex here is now operational following its inauguration on September 5.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Governor Amado Espino Jr., officials of project donor Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) led by resident representative Kim Jinoh, 3rd District Rep. Rachel Arenas, and Sta. Barbara Mayor Carlito Zaplan.
After the inauguration, Alcala and Espino signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the National Agribusiness Corporation (Nabcor) headed by Alan Javellana, the government agency that will operate the project.
The complex covers an area of 1,750 square meters with state-of the-art mechanical drying facilities, milling machinery, storage and marketing facilities.
It has a drying capacity of 5,600 metric tons of palay per year or 1,000 tons per day and can mill 250 cavans of palay per hour.
Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said aside from providing machineries and equipment, KOICA also sent experts to supervise and manage the facility, located on a lot inside the Pangasinan provincial nursery made available by the provincial government.
The complex ensures fast drying and milling of palay as well as maximum recovery of grains, thus allowing farmers to get more out of their harvest.
Alcala urged local farmers to take full advantage of the facility’s services and help sustain the processing plant’s operations.
Nabcor will buy unhusked and wet palay at commercial rates, dry these, store, mill them into high quality grains, and sell the milled rice at prevailing market prices.
The complex is equipped with advanced milling technology installed in controller, huller, husk aspirator, pre-cleaner, paddy separator, brown rice de-stoner, two-stage abrasive polisher, rice bins, color sorter, length grader, conveyor, grader and dust collector.
Espino said the plant will help Pangasinan regain its stature as the leading rice producing province in the country.
At the same time, the governor called on farmers not to abandon their farms and instead help in the sustaining the growth of rice production in the province.
For her part, Arenas lauded the Korean government for providing the grant to construct the facility.
Jinoh said the facility is his country’s contribution to the Philippines to help it achieve its vision of rice sufficiency by 2013.
This RPC is the second one built by the Korean government through KOICA in the Philippines.
The first was built in 2006 in Baler, Aurora.
Three others are being planned in Matanao, Davaol del Sur; Pilar, Bohol; and Pototan, Iloilo.
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