GUIMBA, March 27 -- Modern post-harvest facilities will cushion the impact of global oil surges and help prevent the potential decline in palay (unhusked rice) harvest, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) said on Friday.

In an interview with the Integrated State Media, PhilMech Director Dionisio Alvindia said storage, milling, and drying facilities will help protect farmers' income by reducing post-harvest losses amid rising fuel costs.

"Ang maganda dito, kauna-unahan 'yung (The good thing here is we are prioritizing) efficiency," he said, citing a 7 percent increase in the recovery rate of palay with the use state-of-the-art rice processing systems (RPS) established by the government.

"Meanin...