DAR, DOST distribute solar dryers to Pangasinan ARBOs
DAR employees assist Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer Estelita C. Archita (in white) in setting up the PORTASOL, a set of 12 multipurpose drying trays awarded to the Natividad-based Calapugan Agrarian Reform Cooperative in September.
Urdaneta City, Pangasinan - As the country entered the rainier half of the year, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) provincial offices have begun distributing portable dryers to agrarian reform beneficiaries organizations (ARBOs) in Pangasinan. The low selling price of palay and ballooning production costs which are further exacerbated by natural calamities have been perennial issues for farmers. The Portable Solar (PORTASOL) Dryer, provided by the DOST, allows farmers to dry their grains easier and faster even during overcast days that are common during the country's rainy season.
Calapugan Agrarian Reform Cooperative Chairman Rogelio Pagal pose for a picture next to a set of PORTASOL. The multipurpose drying trays were awarded to the Natividad-based cooperative in September.
Natividad-based Calapugan Agrarian Reform Cooperative (CARe.Co) is the first of a series of DAR-assisted ARBO beneficiaries awarded with the PORTASOL. CARe.Co, which is also this year's beneficiary of the DAR's Village-Level Farm-focused Enterprise Development project, is currently managing a cassava chips enterprise that employs rural women and local cassava growers in Brgy. Calapugan. Because drying is a crucial part of cassava processing, the PORTASOL can help the cooperative maintain the quality and quantity of its products at this time of the year.
"Malaking tulong ito sa amin. Nakakamenos ng oras sa pagbibilad ng aming mga cassava chips kasama na din ng mga palay," CARe.Co Chairman Rogelio Pagal shared. "Malaking pasasalamat namin sa DAR, lalong-lalo na sa bumubuo ng sektor ng support services nito, sa pagbibigay nitong multipurpose solar drying trays."
The PORTASOL is a technology invented by Francisco Pagayon of the Filipino Inventors Society, Inc. The multipurpose solar dryers are stackable, clean, and space-efficient and are specifically designed to reduce the moisture content of large volumes of produce. The DOST, a CARP implementing agency, committed to provide the DAR with PORTASOL along with carrageenan fertilizers during the joint Pangasinan Provincial CARP Implementing Team and Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee held in June. (Zarena Ann Amado/With photos and reports by Dexter Miranda) ###
