RPC buys newly-harvested palay at P12/kg.
LINGAYEN—Despite the inclement weather, good news awaits farmers of Pangasinan as the Rice Processing Complex (RPC) in Santa Barbara now buys newly-harvested palay and accepts drying services for palay starting September 28.
According to Provincial Agriculturist Dalisay Moya, farmers can sell harvested palay at P12 per kilogram to RPC. If delivered directly to RPC, the palay will have an added cost of 20 centavos per kilogram.
Farmers who would not like to sell their palay can still avail of the drying services, which will cost P1.20 per kilogram plus the cost of fuel that will be used in drying the palay.
Moya said that one reason that they should sell their palay to RPC is because RPC is offering a higher price compared to local buyers or traders who buy palay at P11 per kilogram or less.
With this development, Moya said farmers will surely gain more profit and eventually help uplift their living condition.
The RPC could also help the farmers in drying their palay, especially during rainy seasons, Moya added.
Last September 5, Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. together with Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Korean International Cooperative Agency (KOICA) resident representative Kim Jinoh and National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) head Allan Javellana led the ceremonial switch-on of the main control panel of the newly-built modern rice processing plant.
The processing plant features five drying units capable of drying 200 bags of wet rice each or a total of 1,000 bags in an eight-hour-day shift, a brown rice and polished rice mill that could churn out 2.5 metric tons of milled rice in the same working day, packing machines for the milled rice and a storage facility that can accommodate 1,100 metric tons (1.1 million kilograms) at any given time. (PIO/Darwin Magalong)
