A LOCALLY developed Oggun tractor has been unveiled by RU Foundry based in Bacolod and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) headquartered at the campus of the University of the Philippine Los Baños (UPLB).
SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio said the collaboration has resulted in the completion of the enhanced Oggun tractor, an open-systems design tractor locally manufactured in the Philippines.
"The Center strides toward building community resilience and sustainable livelihood through agri-mechanization with open-systems tractors," he said.
Gregorio said the center's General Service Unit, together with the Emerging Innovation for Growth Department, inspected the newly designed Oggun tractor, which is tailored to meet the unique needs of farming communities in the Visayas.
He said that the upgraded Oggun tractor now boasts a power-take-off device for direct coupling of implements, an improved wheel design for enhanced traction, and a sturdier bracket and frame engineered to thrive in the country's diverse terrain and soil conditions.
Headed by Ramon Uy, RU Foundry introduced a locally manufactured hydraulic cylinder for the tractor and upgraded the engine to a fuel-injected type, ensuring cost-efficient fuel consumption.
RU Foundry's long-term partner, the Kabankalan City-based Central Philippine State University (CPSU) represented by its president Aladino Moraca, as well as the UPLB Center for Agri-fisheries and Biosystems Mechanization (BioMech), witnessed the impressive test run of the Oggun tractor in Bacolod, followed by a hands-on field test in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental, held on February 27-28.
Headed by Ronel Pangan, the UPLB Biomech is also SEARCA's partner in the farm mechanization initiative.
Gregorio also noted that as part of the community consultation process, the SEARCA team engaged with the farmers in Sitio Flora in Kabankalan to gather their perspectives on utilizing the localized Oggun tractor in their farms.
Francisco de Guzman, Sitio Flora Agrarian Reform Cooperative (SFARC) president, expressed unwavering enthusiasm on the tractor's potential impact on their community.
De Guzman said SFARC, which manages approximately 120 hectares of agrarian land dedicated to corn, sugarcane and various vegetables, is assisted by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in enhancing their entrepreneurial skills.
He added that the farm cooperation has been the primary source of vegetable produce being supplied to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Negros Occidental.
However, de Guzman also emphasized that there are challenges farmers face in land preparation.
"We depend so much on carabaos for which we pay P300 for four hours of work per day. Additionally, the extreme heat limits their working hours and preparing a hectare of land for production takes up to two weeks," he said.
De Guzman added there are few experienced carabao handlers in their area that could skillfully maneuver the animal for land preparation, making it more challenging for farmers to prepare their farmland for planting.
With that, SEARCA said the community envisioned the possibilities and benefits of utilizing an Oggun tractor that can meet their needs.
"Weeks of land preparation from their traditional practice using carabaos can now be shortened to just a few hours with the local tractor in place even with inexperienced tractor drivers and women who could now seamlessly navigate and operate the tractor," Gregorio said.
SEARCA said the community expressed eagerness to actively participate in the improvement and study of the Oggun tractor's localization process.
"With strong backing from academia through CPSU, government through the DAR and industry through RU Foundry, this initiative is poised to yield promising outcomes fostering community empowerment and ensuring the sustainability of livelihoods in the agricultural areas of Negros Occidental," SEARCA said.