The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) will start commercializing its locally-developed Fluidized Bed Dryer, a technology that aims to provide better grains drying system for rice farmers.

In a statement, PhilMech said it will select companies from the local farm machinery fabrication industry to manufacture the farm equipment.

The technology underwent testing and trials in the past two years and proved its efficiency. Its commercialization will be conducted in the latter part of the year, the agency added.





“PHilMech researchers and scientists have vastly improved on the Fluidized Bed Dryer prototype that the agency developed in 2015. From the latter part of this year, PhilMech will take steps to commercialize the technology,” Dr. Jallorina said.

“From the prototype developed in 2015 that only had 500 kilograms capacity per batch, PHilMech was able to develop a model that can dry one ton of palay per batch,” he added.

The drying cost per kilo of the new technology is below the industry average of P1 per kilo.

According to PhilMech, a typical fluidized bed drying system uses heated air to dry commodities like grains. During the fluidization process, hot air or gas is introduced through the bed of solid particulates. The gas or air will move upwards through the spaces between the particles.

Besides the agriculture sector, PhilMech noted that fluidized drying has applications in the food processing, chemical, pharmaceutical, dairy, metals, and dyes industries, among others.

As part of the commercialization process, PHilMech will have to accredit and select manufacturers that will fabricate the farm equipment.

The development of the technology, the agency said, is also in line with its advocacy to promote locally-developed and fabricated farm equipment.

“PHilMech fully supports the development of the local farm machinery industry that has the potential to employ more people especially in the rural areas, not only in the actual manufacture of the machines but also in the provision of after-sales or maintenance services,” Jallorina said.

Jallorina emphasized that drying palay remains an issue needed to be addressed as most small farmers still dry their grains on the road which can be inefficient.

Farmers who can’t properly dry their palay are forced to sell their products to traders with drying facilities at a much lower price, Jallorina added.

PhilMech said improperly dried palay can result in less quantity or poor quality of rice recovered during the milling process.

Usually, milling results in 50 to 60 percent rice recovered based on the weight of palay, it added.

During the rainy season, palay harvested wet is more prevalent, making it more challenging for the rice industry to produce quality rice.

The ideal moisture content for palay is 14 percent.

PhilMech is the leading institution for farm mechanization in the Philippines as mandated by the Agriculture and Fisheries Mechanization Act (AfMech or Republic Act No. 10601).

The agency develops protocols and processes where technologies produced by the agency and locally-available equipment are tapped for easier adoption by farmers, cooperatives, and agribusiness enterprises.