Operational policy for the development of the Philippine agricultural and fisheries mechanization index

It has been widely accepted the agricultural mechanization had been the precursor of industrialization of many developing countries in Asia, such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan, among others. The path from mechanization towards industrialization had not been easy. Political will, social preparation, and enactment of relevant laws are some of the factors that contribute to the success in implementing agricultural mechanization. Agricultural mechanization through large-scale system implemented by developed and developing countries in Asia was elevated at a higher level in the past decades for improved land, labor and crop productivity. With the importance of agricultural technology as highlighted in the UN Sustainable Agricultural Development Plan of 2015, an off-shoot of the Millennium Development Plan (2000-2015), an operational policy towards standardizing the agricultural mechanization index (AMI) is imperative towards updating and assessing the level of mechanization for policy directions. Moreover, the enactment of Republic Act 10601 otherwise known as the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization (AFMech) Law of 2013 stipulates the important role of mechanization in the country's agricultural development. The law mandated the government to support the investment for the distribution of agricultural mechanization technologies throughout the country in support of the food security ad sufficiency programs. However, different methodologies and descriptions on the level of mechanization by institutions involve in agricultural mechanization development were formulated which could serve as bases for decision making. Hence, there is a need to harmonize such methodologies and come up with a standard operational procedure in indicating our level of mechanization. Such information shall provide basis for policy and decision makers to make ell- informed decisions for the acquisition, distribution and utilization/adoption of agricultural mechanization technologies. Moreover the information will provide the operational procedure for regular updating of mechanization index for research development and extension activities and policy decisions related to agriculture and fisheries mechanization. This project is composed of four studies. The first study involves the benchmarking off the agricultural mechanization index in the Philippines vis-a-vis selected ASEAN countries. Two ASEAN countries namely Vietnam and Thailand were visited to gather the recent developments and to document the technologies utilized in determining their level of agricultural mechanization. Other countries namely: Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia and South Korea were also benchmarked through a survey questionnaire. The second study comprised of the development of a standardized procedure for the Philippine agricultural mechanization index (AMI) where significant components were identified. The third study is the formulation of the standard operating policy for the AMI where a modified agricultural mechanization. The fourth study is the validation activities to verify the MAMI procedure in a rice growing area in Oriental Mindoro. Policy statements and related policies were formulated and submitted for adoption of the government through the Department of Agriculture.