All set for more subprojects to implement, the Municipal Government of Ramon, Isabela submitted for assessment today to the Joint Technical Review (JTR) Team the proposed warehouses with multipurpose dryers and farm-to-market roads (FMRs) to be funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

Five (5) warehouses strategically located in barangays Bugallon, Burgos, San Miguel and Ambatali which will be used as storage facilities to address gaps and losses found in rice postharvest production along the value chain are proposed.

Farmers incur losses both in terms of quality and quantity due to bad drying practices and lack of access to appropriate drying facilities. Good drying is crucial for minimizing post-harvest losses, since it directly affects safe storage, transportation, distribution and processing quality. Likewise, small-scale farmers often lack the resources to store rice and do not have access to appropriate storage facilities.

In many cases, they are obliged to sell their paddy to traders or buyers immediately after harvest which, oftentimes, coincides with the lowest buying price. Consequence of poor storage practices and facilities include spoilage due to high grain moisture, dirt contamination, and losses due to insects and rodents.

The establishment of the warehouses will provide a facility where commodities can be stored, which is currently not available in the area. The maximum capacity of the warehouse is 510 MT or 10,200 cavans of dried palay.

With the operation of the warehouses, farmers’ income will be increased and these will stabilize supply and price of rice and this will benefit to the whole rice-farming community.

Two segments of FMR, Bugallon Proper-Villa Carmen and Villa Carmen-San Antonio FMRs are likewise proposed to support tilapia grow out production in Ramon, home of the majestic Magat Dam.

The enterprise to be supported by the FMRs is the expansion of the existing Tilapia Production and Marketing Enterprise of Ramon Farmers’ Cooperative (RAMFARMCO) located in Barangay Planas.

The said enterprise is a beneficiary of PRDP-IREAP under the small enterprise category. It is offering fresh tilapia and related by-products.

It derives its income from the sale of the product from its members and the price mark-up per kilo as a result of the direct marketing efforts creating a sustainable market by forging marketing agreements with the target markets.

Engr. Roger Rotoni, Mayor Jess Laddaran’s Executive Assistant for Projects and Plans said that the warehouses with drying pavements amounting to 149 million pesos will be of great help to the rice farmers in Ramon and eventually it will reduce postharvest losses thus increasing palay production in Cagayan Valley.

He likewise said that segment 1 and segment 2 of the proposed FMRS which amount to 140 million pesos will hasten transport of tilapia to the identified markets in the region and it will encourage more farmers to venture into tilapia grow out production.

On the other hand, with consistent positive variance in every progress billing and following an upward climb in its program of work, Oscariz-Nagbacalan FMR, Ramon’s first I-BUILD subproject is ongoing construction with no negative slippages. (Ferdinand N Cortez, RPCO2 InfoACE Unit)