THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has released P750,000 financial assistance providing a boost to the operational capability of a rice mill in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Jennifer Pidor, Zamboanga Sibugay Science and Technology director, said the recipient of the financial assistance, through DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Setup), is the Rogelio Rice Mill in the town of Imelda.

Pidor said the financial assistance will be used to acquire a set of rice mill engines for the firm, which has been outsourcing dryer and rice milling services from neighboring areas for about five years now.

Pidor said the upgrades will allow the engine-driven facility to mill 10 bags of palay per hour with an average weight of 60 kilograms (kg) per bag, yielding an output of 14 bags of milled rice at 25 kgs. per bag.

Rogelio Nastor, owner of rice mill, said dependence on the drying and milling schedules of their service provider has resulted in numerous delivery delays and decreased productivity.

With the upgrade, Nastor said his firm will allow local farmers to mill their produce at a lower price.

Pidor said the rice mill has also been designed to accommodate the minimum requirement of input that a household needs, that is at least one bag of palay.

Setup, a flagship program of DOST, is a nationwide strategy to encourage and assist small and medium enterprises to adopt technological innovations to improve their operations and thus boost their productivity and competitiveness. (SunStar Zamboanga)