S. KOREAN AGRI EQPT MAKERS
TO SET UP PH ASSEMBLY PLANT
By Manny Piñol
Cebu City – South Korean agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturers, hoping to cash in on the Farm Mechanization Program of the Philippine Government, will set up a facility in the country to assemble tractors and other equipment and also fabricate implements and tools.
During the convention of about 200 Chief Executive Officers of South Korean Agricultural Machinery Corporations in the Crimson Resort in Mactan Island last night, Korean Agriculture Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) Chairman Kim Ging-Il said the South Korean manufacturers would like to establish the facility in the Philippines.
Kim said KAMICO only needed the support of the Philippine Government by allocating an area where they could set up the assembly plant.
(Early this morning, I called up Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) Chairman Vince Dizon to relay the request of KAMICO for an assembly plant area. He immediately assured me of a 50-hectare location within Clark Airbase for the KAMICO assembly plant.)
In the presentation which I delivered as the main speaker of the convention of the CEOs, I emphasized that one of the major programs of the Department of Agriculture under the Duterte Administration is farm mechanization.
With a farm mechanization level of only 2.1 horsepower per hectare, the Philippines lags behind in productivity because of huge post harvest losses of 16.4% of total production, mainly in harvesting and milling.
The estimate is that Philippine Agriculture needs about $3-B over the next five years to be able to make agriculture and fisheries in the country efficient and more productive.
KAMICO officials said that by establishing their assembly plant in the Philippines, South Korean machinery and equipment manufacturers expect a reduction in the prices of farm implements and equipment.
On the part of the Philippines, the establishment of the KAMICO assembly plant in the Philippines would mean more investments in the country and more jobs for our skilled workers.
(The first five photos showing South Korea manufactured farm machinery were downloaded from public websites. The succeeding photos were taken last night during the KAMICO CEOs’ conference in Mactan Island, Cebu with Ambassador Raul Hernandez and KAMICO Chairman Kim Ging-Il. Photos by Aleli Maghirang and Mayette Tudlas)
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