Delgado Brothers (Delbros) Group, one of the country’s pioneers in agriculture and logistics innovation, presented a new cutting-edge system for the sugarcane industry through its sugarcane farm solutions member company Cane Express.
Aimed at modernizing and optimizing the sugarcane farming industry, CaneX’s new innovative system revolutionizes traditional harvesting, loading and hauling. CaneX is the first in the country to deploy 48-ft triple axle intermodal trailers, which employ the company’s “drag and drop” model and can haul multiple loads in one day, efficiently shortening overall delivery time of sugarcane.
“The country’s sugar output for 2017 to 2018 declined due to a drastic drop of labor and unfavorable weather conditions,” CaneX managing partner Sebastian Ledesma said. “With our modernized solutions, we aim not only to bridge the labor gap but also contribute to the sugarcane industry’s positive output by improving the current harvesting, loading and delivery model.”
Because of inefficient traditional farm practices, labor costs and lack of financing and infrastructure support, the industry is facing higher production costs for small and large farms compared to neighboring Southeast Asian countries. These challenges have caused a drop in the country’s overall sugarcane supply and a surge in sugar prices.
Through the Filipino-designed CaneX trucks, mechanized cane harvesters and loaders are expected to cut hauling, harvesting and loading time, allowing farmers to focus on growing crops as best as they can and for sugar mills to get the freshest sugarcane. This new technology can help lower production and labor costs as well as help local farmers properly assess competitive prices for their products.
CaneX trucks allow for three to four trips with bigger loads for hauling, as opposed to the current process that is limited to two trips a day.
Compared to traditional farming that takes 10 people three to four days to harvest one hectare of land, mechanized harvesters can cut 1.2 hectares per day. Additionally, manual loading usually takes up to three to four hours to fill a 10-wheeler truck, while mechanized loaders efficiently cut the process to just 50 minutes.
The company looks to double its current fleet of 15 harvesters and 7 loaders in the next 2 years by committing over P90 million in equipment and personnel investment.
Additionally, it also sees an opportunity to expand its services from simply harvesting, loading, and hauling to full end-to-end farming, which includes planting, fertilization, cultivation and farm management services by 2020. At present, CaneX is used in farms in Negros, Bukidnon, Cavite and Batangas.
“As seen through the years, Delbros is committed to modernizing agriculture and helping farmers produce more with their limited resources through our technology,” Delbros Group managing director Jose Paolo Delgado said.
“Through our continued support of our farmers and the agriculture industry, we also take part in fueling the country’s potential economic growth,” said Delgado.
