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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider DA-BAR, IRRI launch digital platform for agri tools

DA-BAR, IRRI launch digital platform for agri tools

Published May 25, 2024 04:43 am

Digital agriculture tools and services (DATS) have been made accessible through a newly launched online platform made by the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

D4AgPH, a recently released digital platform was made to assist local agriculture offers and help farmers leverage collected data to improve the country's agriculture community through an online presence.

The agri researchers designed the public online site to promote data-driven decision-making in terms of the Philippines’ rice-based food systems.

“D4AgPH came as a result of an IRRI-led national assessment and inventory of existing DATS,” IRRI explained. “The assessment aimed to understand the country’s digital agriculture landscape and use collected data and insights to help support the DA’s digital transformation strategy, as outlined in the 2023-2028 MASAGANA Rice Industry Development Program [MRIDP].”

Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Christopher Morales said that MRIDP underlines the idea that digitalization would help uplift the agriculture sector, especially as the DA is pushing toward modernization efforts.

“D4AgPH is a crucial strategy for attaining sustainable agricultural development and likewise ensures that our farmers are equipped with appropriate tools,” he added.

Additionally, DA-BAR Director Junel Soriano said that the platform would open avenues for dialogue and knowledge exchange for a more resilient and inclusive agricultural sector.

The D4AgPH features digestible and responsive interface that can view the list of DATS and detailed information, generate insights on the distribution of the tools through the agri-food value chain, and allow innovators and developers disseminate over 67 DATS which are grouped according to several use cases.

“Mapping the distribution of the DATS across the agri-food value chain shows 61 percent are specifically tailored to address challenges and opportunities related to crop production and more than 30 percent, focused on production and inputs, were developed and maintained by government agencies such as PhilRice, Bureau of Plant Industry, and other DA agencies,” IRRI elaborated.

Moreover, the research institute said that the platform is 50 percent ready to be expanded, as 19 percent are in the pilot stage and 29 percent are being readied for commercialization.

“Mobile applications also emerged as the predominant distribution channel through which users access the DATS,” they added.

Moreover, IRRI studied out the DATS against several scaling ingredients across 10 fields, to identify strong and weak spots for developers and other stakeholders.

The scaling scan revealed that most of the agri tools were strong in terms of their technology, user awareness and demand, finance mechanisms, and knowledge and skills; meanwhile, they are in need of better monitoring and evaluation, evidence generation, and better links on supply and demand, as well as invite more collaborative efforts beyond the agriculture sector.

“Many new digital tools are coming online these days which poses so many opportunities. This D4AgPH is a great start; it provides us with a mechanism that will help us to prioritize and identify effective tools as well as partners that we can collaborate with,” said IRRI Senior Scientist Stephen Klassen stated.

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