The Philippines is set to bolster its role as a hub for agricultural modernization with the launch of the planned Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Complex (KAMIC) in Nueva Ecija, a full-scale agricultural manufacturing facility.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the groundbreaking on Wednesday for the multi-billion-peso facility, a joint initiative of KAMIC, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Cabanatuan City government.
“This is a historic leap. For the first time, we are building not just a distribution base for imported machines, but a full local manufacturing ecosystem that will produce agricultural machinery tailored to Philippine conditions,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
KAMICO, the Korea Agricultural Machinery Cooperative that has driven South Korea’s farm mechanization since 1962, will bring its expertise to the Philippines through a long-term partnership with the DA and Cabanatuan City.
The 20-hectare KAMIC site in Barabgat Kalikid Sur will be developed in three phases, starting 2026. Phase 1 will focus on semi-knocked down (SKD) assembly, phase 2 on completely knocked down (CKD) assembly, and phase 3 on full manufacturing assembly.
Tiu Laurel said the project is expected to deliver broad benefits to Central Luzon, including higher rice productivity, lower machinery and spare parts costs, new supply chains, and thousands of jobs in assembly, fabrication, and engineering.
He said the technology transfer from South Korea would boost workforce skills and make mechanization accessible to small and medium-scale farmers.
Supporting the modernization push, the DA, through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Modernization and Mechanization and its regional offices, will distribute machinery and equipment to 44 farmer cooperatives, along with hybrid seeds and foliar inputs to support 22,103 hectares of hybrid rice for the 2025 to 2026 dry season.
