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A
draft bill will beef up the services of the Agricultural Machinery
Information Network (AgMachIN).
The
bill is tentatively titled “An act that promotes local manufacture
and regulation of agricultural and fishery machinery in the country.”
The
bill’s Article II Section 8 states that AgMachIN shall be
strengthened to serve as a network of information system, a data
bank, and a facility for the online registration of agricultural
and fishery machinery.
The
draft bill has been the subject of two public consultations and
discussions, of which PCARRD has always been invited. It is an initiative
of Congressman Benasing Macarambon of Lanao del Sur’s second
district.
The
registration system is one of the activities identified to further
promote the local manufacture and regulation of agricultural and
fishery machinery in the country. This will help determine the status
and level of mechanization in the country. It can also show the
provinces with greater mechanization needs and priorities.
Generally,
the draft bill intends to come up with a system of accreditation
and classification of machinery suppliers and manufactures, state
of the art testing and evaluation, continued standards development
and enforcement, and responsive-adequate support services.
The
National Agriculture and Fishery Council-Department of Agriculture
(DA-NAFC) has been organizing public consultations relative to the
bill. PCARRD is a member of the NAFC’s Agriculture and Fishery
Mechanization Committee.
AgMachIN
is currently housed at the PCARRD portal. It was launched last year
and contains information related to market, technologies, research
and development status, directory of agricultural machinery manufacturers,
policies affecting agricultural mechanization, publications, news,
and announcements.
These
initial contents were based on the information needs identified
during series of consultations and meetings with various stakeholders.
The information network will complement the existing information-based
systems of other agencies. Connectivity among various institutions
shall be established in the future. (Ofelia F. Domingo, S&T
Media Service)
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