by Dr. William Dar, FORMER AGRICULTURE SECRETARY
Digitalization of local agriculture should be a step in the right direction. We are actually already behind our neighbors already on this. I believe it could solve a lot of problems, including those related to smuggling, to stored agricultural supply, etc.
Let us see what Dr. William Dar, a former agriculture secretary, had written in this following article. Just a few portions were deleted. Here goes:
LAST February, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared that he wants to fast-track the digitalization of the database of farmers and food balance sheet (FBS) to strengthen the country’s agricultural sector and food security level.
President Marcos gave the directive after meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council’s (PSAC) Agriculture Sector Group at Malacañang. For backgrounder, there are over 5.4 million farmers, farm workers and fisherfolk registered under the national Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA). While registration in RSBSA is voluntary, it is a requirement in availing of agriculture-related government services from the DA
I believe that President Marcos advocating the digitalization of agriculture should be strongly supported by sectors that also have involvement and interest in agri-fisheries, particularly large food companies, state colleges and universities, other government agencies besides the DA, among others.
The country also cannot be left behind in the digitalization of agriculture, and I find that even impossible, especially with artificial intelligence (AI) gaining ground rapidly in numerous industries.
Benefits of digitalization
The United Nations-Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) also sees the need for the global food system to undergo digitalization citing the following benefits, and let me quote them: improving smallholders’ access to information, inputs and markets; increasing production and productivity; streamlining supply chains; and reducing operational costs.
However, the FAO sees challenges in agriculture adopting digitalization. “However, the ‘digitalization’ of agriculture and the food value chain has certain challenges to overcome. Issues such as cybersecurity and data protection, labor replacement and re-education, and the risk of creating a digital divide between economies, sectors or individuals with differing abilities to adopt new technologies,” the FAO said in one of its social media portals.
With that, let me state that among my primary concerns in the ongoing digitalization process in the Philippines is the agriculture sector getting left behind in adoption, especially the smallholders. This can have disastrous consequences as those who will be left behind in digitalization, and I am speaking here not only of farmers and fishers, face the danger of getting trapped in poverty. And how many farmers and fishers are still part of the country’s “poorest of the poor”?
The rapid development of digital technologies, especially AI, will also need a reskilling or upgrading of the skills of workers, including those in agriculture.
Fortunately, the first step to digitalizing the country’s agriculture has already been made, with the establishment of the Precision and Digital Agriculture Center (PreDiCt) at the campus of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija in 2022. PreDiCt was funded by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research.
Also, the PalengQR PH payment system for public market vendors was introduced in the cities of Baguio and Davao, allowing for cashless transactions. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of the Interior and Local Government jointly developed the PalengQR PH program. Now, my suggestion is to directly link food producers with market vendors through the PalengQR PH system.
But I must say that we need more effort from both the government and private sector to digitalize Philippine agriculture. There is also no need to search for technologies applicable to agriculture as these are readily available with more under development.
When it comes to digital technologies, the most popular based on my observation are AI, the Internet of Things, robotics, geomapping, 5G (fifth generation) and block chain.
Not surprisingly, those are also technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Agriculture 4.0 that are rapidly changing food systems in various parts of the globe, especially in developed nations. Hence, there is nothing to fear from the digitalization of agriculture even if a big number of digital technologies are disruptive or will change the way we usually do things in business and industry.
But I must emphasize that for the Philippines, special focus should be given to the smallholders when it comes to adopting digital agriculture, as a big number of them, as previously stated, are still part of the poorest of the poor.
Government and the private sector can spearhead the effort to “digitalize” agriculture smallholders through direct intervention programs like training and provision of tools. The supply agreements between smallholders and big food firms can also be used as platforms for the former to rapidly adopt to digitalization.
Getting smallholders farmers, fishers and agri-based firms into the digital sphere can also become an effective anti-poverty measure. Furthermore, digital agriculture can attract more young people into farming, fishery and agribusiness, which can accelerate the adoption of digital technology in the sector.
However, even with all the good things we hear about digital agriculture, it is not the end result in farming and fishery; rather it is a means to an end, specifically higher food production and better incomes for producers.
In concluding this column, I would like to thank President Marcos for giving us an audience last April 25 where the private sector-led Kapatid Angat Lahat for Agriculture Program (Kalap) presented its ideas and programs including digitalization. President Marcos also backed the Kalap’s digitalization advocacy for Philippine agriculture.** First published in the Manila Times
