DILIMAN, Quezon City - In line with the celebration of Farm Safety Month, the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) teleradyo program introduced the safety measures being observed and promoted on the use of agricultural machinery.
Engr. Aldrin Badua, chief of the Enterprise Division of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech), stressed the importance of ensuring safety in the use of machinery and equipment that their agency provides to target beneficiaries under different government programs.
“We make sure that the machinery operators themselves are safe, as well as the environment. These are the things that we teach the beneficiaries,” he said.
Badua said that PHilMech provides training for machinery operators highlighting safety protocols to prevent accidents and injuries in the farm. They also teach basic troubleshooting and repair and maintenance.
Furthermore, each farm machinery provided by the agency is under warranty and after-sales support is required from the service providers.
Under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, PHilMech has distributed around 20,000 units of different types of machinery to more than 6,000 farmers’ cooperatives and associations. Meanwhile, coconut farmers may also avail themselves of processing technologies and other facilities under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.
PHilMech is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture that conducts research on innovations for mechanization and postharvest technologies. It is also responsible in commercializing these technologies and extending its proper utilization to farmers and fishers.
Badua’s interview on the ATI’s “Agri Asenso” program was aired last August 27. Other safety tips in the use of farm machinery were discussed in line with Proclamation No. 115-A, series of 1966 which gives emphasis on safety precautions and preventive measures among people on all sectors.
Badua’s full interview may be streamed through https://www.facebook.com/ATIinteractive/videos/731209858179056/.
