The government’s new packaging system for the Philippines’ rice stocks would help improve storage and post-harvest handling of the country’s buffer supply, according to the National Food Authority.
NFA administrator Larry Lacson led the pilot launch of the one-ton palay bagging system in the province, one of three pilot areas along with Occidental Mindoro and Davao del Sur.
‘Based on our initial records, the use of tonner bags will free up space of around 25 percent,’ Lacson said during the event.
He said the government expects to save about P1.1 million to P1.2 million for every 60,000 sacks of rice through reduced use of traditional sacks and improved efficiency in storage and handling.
‘We are also doing a time and motion study to see how much time we are saving in this system. We need to see all the advantages and disadvantages, if there are any,’ he said.
According to Lacson, the new container bags were procured at P325 each and could be reused five times or more, making them more cost-efficient than the one-time-use P15 printed sacks currently in use.
Each one-ton bag can hold the equivalent of 12 to 13 regular rice sacks, offering an estimated savings of at least P600 over its reusable lifespan.
Aside from the new storage containers, Lacson said the NFA would also install fixed and mobile gantry units, equipment used to lift and transport the one-ton bags in its warehouses across the country to speed up loading and unloading operations and reduce manual handling.
Lacson said the concept is inspired by the system used in Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s major rice producers where bulk bagging and mechanized handling have helped improve efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses.