A machine that will improve the quality of dried agricultural products was developed by the Philippine Center for Postharvest and Mechanization to help fishermen and farmers prepare for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) common market in 2015.
“The multi-commodity solar tunnel drier (MCSTD) could help farmers and fisherfolk prepare for the ASEAN common market on 2015, where farm commodities, among others, will have lowered tariffs,” said a statement released by PhilMech yesterday.
According to the ASEAN Agreement on the Common Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the tariffs of agricultural commodities from member states should be gradually reduced according to the Common Effective Preferential Tariff schedule. For example, under Executive Order 892, sugar tariff rates are to be gradually reduced to 5% in 2015. In 2012, the tariff rate on sugar imports was set at 28%. This year, it is 18%.
“Our dried products will be able to compete with products from other countries if this technology is utilized,” Rodolfo P. Estogoy, PhilMech Director, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
The drier traps heat from the sun and stores it in one of its chambers. The product to be dried is placed inside the machine, then the trapped solar heat is circulated by a fan inside the chamber so that the heat is distributed evenly. This lessens the time it takes to dry, say, a fish, from two days to eight hours.
PhilMech also stressed that this will produce quality dried fish as “many dried fish producers, mostly those involved in small or medium scale production, dry their fish on mats laid out on the road or in areas that are hardly clean.”
Mr. Estigoy said that the machine costs P180,000 to P230,000, noting that the machine is not made for individuals as it is expensive. Instead, they are targeting cooperatives and businesses engaged in drying fish and fruits.
“There are cooperatives and enterprises that are already using MCSTD including Keno Foods Inc. in Bustos, Bulacan which produces dried tilapia,” Mr. Estigoy said.
“We are partnering with state universities, especially agriculture universities, to inform farmers of this technology as this will increase their competitiveness and raise the standards of our local products,” Mr. Estigoy said.
The MCSTD can be used to dry nuts, bananas, cassava and mushrooms, aside from fish. Mr. Estogoy added that there is a group in Marinduque that uses MCSTD to dry breadfruit for flour production.