High inflation? Satellite imaging may help

MANILA -The Marcos administration plans to harness satellite technology to help bring down inflation, particularly by addressing supply issues related to rice production, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

For this purpose, Neda is working with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in evaluating the potential of the Philippine Rice Information System (PRiSM) in providing insights that would help craft proactive measures toward managing inflation.

The growth rate of prices of goods and services that households commonly buy, especially food items, is seen remaining high to average at 5.6 percent in 2023.

The government’s goal is to shepherd the full-year average inflation to within the range of 2 to 4 percent.

Rory Jay Dacumos, OIC assistant director of the Neda Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Staff, said that currently, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority is used to help craft policy on inflation. INQ