Gov’t boosting crucial farm sector database

MANILA, Philippines  —The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing its digitalization agenda by updating the registry system of farmers and fisherfolk nationwide to craft better interventions and projects for them.

To update its electronic database called the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), the DA will mobilize 16,000 staff nationwide to fast-track the collection, updating and validation of stakeholders’ personal and farm data.

The agency will also enlist local government units to assist in collecting and verifying data.

The RSBSA has data on just 1.4 million farmers and fishers, just a small fraction of the 10-million latest estimate of stakeholders, many of whom are the poorest in the country.

“The registration and updating of records and profiles of farmers, farmworkers, fisherfolk and agri-youth will determine if these estimates are correct,” the DA said in a statement on Tuesday.

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This is also seen to help the DA identify who should receive assistance from their office.

“We were supposed to finish this update last year but we have so many islands to cover,” Agriculture Undersecretary for operations Roger Navarro said. “This will allow us to cleanse the list for better use of our resources,” he added.

Farmers, seasonal farm workers

In updating the RSBSA, however, Navarro said there is a need to make a distinction between farmers and seasonal farm workers, adding that the latter should be excluded from the list of beneficiaries because they do not own a farm or raise crops.

“They should be in the list of other government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development for proper handling,” he said.

Labor statistics show that agriculture employs one in every four Filipinos.

The RSBSA, established in the early 2010s, is a digital database containing stakeholders’ personal and socioeconomic information, agri-fishery activities and livelihood information, as well as the interventions, programs or services they have received or participated in.

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The DA said improving the RSBSA dovetails with its broader plan to digitalize operations to reduce costs in the food value chain, widen market access to make agriculture a more profitable venture and, consequently, provide consumers with a stable supply of reasonably-priced food.

It is also looking at creating an agricultural statistics office to better manage food production and demand, and reduce reliance on importation.

Two years ago, the agency began upgrading its management information system to enhance monitoring of projects and interventions and facilitate real-time recording of agri-fishery information.