The construction of an PHP8-million rice processing complex (RPC) is expected to be completed in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao early next year.

“Our target date of the project completion is on February 2022,” Engr. Ismael Guiamel, agriculture division director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MAFAR-BARMM), said in an interview by reporters here Wednesday.

He said the RPC, as funded by MAFAR-BARMM, will be equipped with newly introduced technologies targeting to help farmers from the town and its neighboring areas increase their income by reducing post-harvest losses and produce high-quality milled rice.

Only recently, officials of the MAFAR conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on government land near the town center of Datu Paglas town.

“Upon completion, the MAFAR-BARMM will turnover the RPC to the Datu Paglas Farmers Irrigators Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the area,” Guiamel said.

The Barrist Builders, the contractor of the project, is expected to complete the construction according to its programs and specifications within the next 150 days. (PNA)