The 2026 National Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization (NAFMech) Summit cum National Consultation on the Proposed Revised National Agricultural and Fisheries Machinery Assemblers, Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Dealers Accreditation and Classification (NAMDAC) Guidelines generated 40 policy recommendations to strengthen agricultural and fisheries modernization.

Held on September 14–18 in Pampanga, the five-day event opened with two days dedicated to the national consultation on the proposed revised NAMDAC Guidelines, followed by three days of discussions under the NAFMech Summit. Around 100 participants from government, industry, farmers’ and irrigators’ groups, academe, local government units, and other stakeholders took part in the discussions. The event carried the theme, “Mechanization, Irrigation and Drainage, and Infrastructure: The Resilience Trinity in Addressing the Triple-Shock Crisis through Strategic Investments, Innovation, and Collective Action.”

During the NAMDAC consultation, participants reviewed the proposed revisions and raised concerns on accreditation requirements for agricultural and fisheries machinery suppliers. Among the matters discussed were the documentary requirements for suppliers applying for NAMDAC accreditation through the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) and for the issuance of a Permission to Operate (PTO) through the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE). Discussions emphasized the need to harmonize the documentary requirements between the two processes to streamline compliance and avoid duplication. The revised Guidelines included a provision that requires separate guidelines governing the harmonized requirements, with PCAF and BAFE involved in the process.

The succeeding three-day NAFMech Summit focused on agricultural and fisheries mechanization, irrigation and drainage, and infrastructure, with discussions covering renewable energy, financing, standards, technology adoption, and institutional coordination. These discussions resulted in 40 policy recommendations, including a long-term mechanization roadmap, needs-based machinery validation and procurement, stronger coordination on irrigation and drainage, and harmonized standards for agricultural and fisheries infrastructure.

Charting the next phase of mechanization

One of the recommendations calls for the Department of Agriculture to fast-track the development of the Agri-Fisheries Mechanization Road Map for 2027–2050, which emerged from discussions on the country’s remaining machinery requirements and the approaching completion of mechanization interventions under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

Participants highlighted the need for better coordination among concerned agencies to determine what machinery requirements remain and how these can be supported through appropriate financing and lending programs. A longer-term roadmap would help bring these efforts together by providing a common direction for government mechanization programs and investments.

The Summit also called for a conference-workshop to review and align the programs, activities, and projects of agencies covered by the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Law. The proposed initiative is intended to support agricultural modernization through modern and emerging technologies, including robotics and smart agriculture.

Matching machinery with actual farm realities

The discussions also turned to a recurring concern among beneficiaries: whether the machinery being provided actually matches the conditions and needs of the farms where it will be used. Participants cited cases of equipment that remained unused or underutilized because it was not appropriate to the beneficiaries’ requirements, prompting a recommendation to institutionalize needs-based and site-specific machinery validation and procurement.

Engr. Patricia Jane Vergara of Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization explained that its existing validation process already includes field assessment of conditions such as soil type and other site-specific factors, while cluster focal persons help identify and relay the actual requirements of beneficiaries. It also monitors machinery that is not being utilized and may reposition units where appropriate.

The recommendation seeks to further strengthen these measures by making site-specific conditions, production systems, machinery requirements, and the capacity for sustainable utilization central to the validation and procurement process. It also calls for utilization monitoring and inventory assessment before new machinery is procured, with repositioning, substitution, or other appropriate interventions considered when needed, subject to applicable program guidelines and regulations.

Bringing irrigation and drainage into one policy framework

Water management emerged as another key area for policy action, with participants emphasizing the close relationship between water and food production and calling for greater attention to drainage alongside irrigation.

PCAF Committee on AFMech Chairperson Rodolfo Tamayo noted that irrigation systems have long been in place while drainage has not received similar attention, pointing to the need for a more integrated approach to agricultural water management.

This was reflected in the recommendation to develop an integrated irrigation and drainage policy framework, together with stronger institutional coordination on soil and water resources management.

A related recommendation calls for the Flood and Drought Alleviation In-Situ (FLADRAIN) Project, which was presented by Dr. Rodolfo Undan, to be developed into a formal policy or position paper and pursued for consideration in relevant legislative measures on water resources management. The Summit also called for regular coordination, data sharing, and joint research among agencies working on soil and water resources.

Together, these recommendations reflect a broader approach to agricultural water management—one that considers both water availability and the management of excess water as part of building resilience.

Strengthening agricultural and fisheries infrastructure

Infrastructure discussions focused not only on the construction of facilities but also on whether these investments are properly planned, sustained, and able to deliver their intended benefits.

Participants raised concerns over completed infrastructure that remained underutilized and called for stronger monitoring of facilities after project completion. They also raised the absence of a specific infrastructure code or standard consistently used by the Department of Agriculture as a common basis for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

In response, the 40-item policy matrix recommends the development or adoption of a harmonized Agricultural and Fisheries Infrastructure Code and Standards, aligned with applicable national and sectoral standards. It also calls for the harmonization of infrastructure standards, technical specifications, and operational manuals across concerned agencies.

From recommendations to action

As PCAF Executive Director Bernadette De Los Santos expressed in her message: “In this environment, resilience cannot simply mean recovering after a crisis. It must also mean having the systems, technologies, infrastructure, institutions, and policies that allow our farmers and fisherfolk to withstand shocks in the first place.”

Taken together, these four policy recommendations, drawn from the 40 generated during the Summit, put this call for resilience into concrete policy directions: making mechanization more strategic, managing both water supply and excess water, and ensuring that machinery and infrastructure investments are properly planned, implemented, and sustained. | Joy Camille Luza