The LV6 Rice Mill had been provided S&T assistance amounting to ₱1,545,000.00 under the DOST’s Small Enterprise Upgrading Program (SETUP). The firm, based in Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay, availed of the program to upgrade their palay drying process from solar to mechanical.
The acquired 8.5-ton mechanical unit utilizes indirect biomass furnace technology to reduce the grains’ moisture content, often rice and corn, to a level ideal for storage. The whole process only takes 24 hours, thereby reducing rejects due to spoilage.
The abovementioned equipment will enable the firm to significantly improve its current rice grain drying operation into mechanized drying equipped with the moisture meter sensor that will measure the 14% moisture content’s accuracy. Reduce palay spoilage (low quality) by about 20%, eliminate the deductions scheme of the local buyers, increase the buying price of palay, and generate an additional three (3) employment opportunities in the locality.
DOST Personnel headed by PD Jennifer A. Pidor turned over the checks to the project cooperator & proprietor, Mr. Lito A. Bitantos
Provincial S&T Director Ms. Jennifer A. Pidor personally turned over the fund checks to Mr. Lito A. Bitantos, project cooperator and proprietor of LV6 Rice Mill. The first tranche of the funding assistance was released to the proprietor on February 10, 2022 amounting to ₱772,500.00 for the procurement and fabrication of the equipment, while the second tranche was released on September 22, 2022 amounting to ₱772,500.00, after the complete equipment installation and dry run.
DOST-SETUP assists micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and identified industries to improve their productivity through different technological interventions such as the acquisition of innovative and cost-effective technologies, product development, process improvement, human resource development, and consulting services, among others.
To read more about SETUP, visit the DOST IX website at https://region9.dost.gov.ph/ or hit this link, https://bit.ly/3Dwo7PJ. For more information, please contact DOST-IX Provincial Science and Technology Office - Zamboanga Sibugay Province at (062) 955-0825 or 09178494214. And to be updated on the latest happenings, please follow our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DOSTRegion9 (John Ken Y. Esmas, DOST-IX Press Release).
