THE 3.39-million Agricultural Tramline System in Barangay Igmaya-an, Salvador Benedicto town was inaugurated Tuesday in rites led by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.
The project, jointly implemented by the Provincial Government, Philippine Center for Post-harvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), and Department of Agriculture (DA), is expected to benefit about 400 farmers in Salvador Benedicto, and the nearby barangays in San Carlos City.
The two-way bicable tramline system includes a 625-meter cable from Igmaya-an proper to Sitio Quenabong of Salvador Benedicto, and 864-meter from Igmaya-an proper to Sitio Bedio, Barangay Codcod, San Carlos City, and has a hauling capacity of 350-kilograms per trip.
The tramline has a speed of 100 to 150 meters per minute and has 80 Hp diesel engine.
The tramline is an alternative transport system for farmers in areas isolated from road network because of ravines, rivers, and dense vegetation. It is a system of steel cables, and pulleys that links the production area to the nearest access road for the transport of agricultural products such as upland rice, banana, ginger, corn, vegetables, squash, coconut, among others.
The project will minimize the drudgery of hauling and transport of products; reduce hauling time (from three hours of manual hauling to three minutes with tramline use); reduce hauling cost to 50 percent thus increase the farmers’ income; and maintain good quality of vegetables by the reduction of mechanical damages.