The City Agriculturist Office (CAgrO) is encouraging the registration of machinery and equipment for agriculture and fisheries in the city.
Engr. Barbara June Dinampo, an official from CAgrO, explained in an interview with the Madayaw Program over city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) that the registration of agricultural and fishery machinery and equipment is under City Ordinance No. 0167-23, Series of 2023, which was based on Republic Act 10601 or the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Law (AFMECH Law). The law mandates the registration of agricultural machinery and fishery equipment.
“Ang AFMECH Law, ang tumong niini is agricultural mechanization kay ginatuohan nga ang agricultural mech makahatag og pag increase sa atoang agricultural productivity for food security and safety and of course to increase farmers income. [The goal of the AFMECH Law is agricultural mechanization because we believe that agricultural mechanization will lead to the increase of our agricultural productivity for food safety and security, as well as increase farmer’s income,” she said.
Dinampo said that mechanization can also lead to the improvement of the city’s local assembling and manufacturing industries. It can also develop and enforce the standards, testing, and evaluation of agricultural and fishery machinery and equipment.
The registration is also beneficial in ensuring the safety and quality of the machinery and equipment used in the agricultural sector.
According to the ordinance, registered agricultural and fishery machinery and equipment are entitled to various incentives, including the provision of insurance under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).
In addition, registered machinery may be used as loan collateral, and the registration can also facilitate the location of lost agricultural machinery and units since the implementation of the registration, under the AFMECH Law, is nationwide.
Meanwhile, Engr. Karen Joy De los Reyes, another official from CAgrO, said that the office has a system prepared where the ownership of the machinery and equipment will be encoded.
The system will also serve as an inventory for the machinery to efficiently identify which agricultural and fishery machines and equipment are serviceable.
De los Reyes also emphasized that all agricultural machinery and fisheries equipment in the city should be registered, regardless of whether it was provided by the Department of Agriculture or privately owned.
The registration of the machinery may be under the name of the individual owner or through a representative if the machinery or equipment is owned by a farmer’s organization or cooperative.
Machinery owners need to secure a certificate of residency from their barangay, any evidence of acquisition (i.e. sales invoice, delivery receipt, deed of sale, deed of donation, memorandum of agreement, or memorandum of understanding), and duly accomplished registration form.
CAgrO will be the one facilitating the registration of the machinery and equipment. The office also explained that farmers need not pay any registration fee under the Magna Carta for Countryside and Barangay Business Enterprise or the Kalakalan 2000, and the Cooperative Code of the Philippines. Suppliers of the equipment will be paying for the registration fee. There is also no deadline for the registration of agricultural and fishery machinery and equipment. CIO
