Farmers and local government representatives from the Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were recently introduced to a low-cost bamboo-bin dryer developed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Ilocos Norte as changing weather patterns continue to threaten postharvest drying.
More than 260 farmers and local government unit representatives from the CAR provinces and Region II including Isabela, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino attended the recent PhilRice Isabela Open Field Day, where the technology was presented as a way to reduce grain losses during rainy and unpredictable conditions.
The dryer uses a bamboo-bin structure designed to lower construction costs while improving grain drying compared with open-air methods often disrupted by sudden rain.
Participants were also presented with flexible adoption options including fabricating the bamboo-bin structure locally while purchasing only the heater and blower assembly.
PhilRice Isabela staff also underwent training on proper setup and monitoring of the dryer to help ensure smoother transfer of the technology to farming communities in the region.
The initiative was implemented as farmers in rice-producing areas face increasing challenges in drying palay on time, which can affect grain quality, market value, and income.
Cagayan Valley and CAR remain key contributors to national rice production with Cagayan Valley accounting for about 15–20% of total palay output while CAR contributes a smaller share of around 1–3%, mainly from upland and high-elevation rice systems.
