To provide more efficient sourcing of agriculture information and data, enable faster reporting of programs and projects, and enhance decision support mechanisms, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will develop a web-based information support system, called the Agri-Information Support Portal.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar mentioned the creation of the portal as one of the top initiatives that DA will undertake for 2020 during a press conference held on January 3, 2020.
The creation of the portal is also part of the first Administrative Order (AO) that Dar issued for the year stipulating the establishment of a Department-wide policy framework on his “New Thinking for Agriculture”.
“This is a purposeful, nationwide initiative that will link all the bureaus, attached agencies, and regions of DA so that we will know the universe of actions that these various agencies are doing to help the farming and fishing sectors,” Dar said.
As stated in the AO, the DA-Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS), in consultation with the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy and Planning and the various operating units, bureaus, and attached agencies, will lead and implement the development of the portal.
DA units, including banner programs and special projects under DA, are directed to provide regular updates in their respective activities to be shared with the Department’s Executive Committee under the Agri-Information Support Portal.
“We have a wide range of stakeholders at DA, from the farmers, fishers up to the policymakers. We have a multi-stakeholders that we need to cater to including the tech-savvy millennials. Lahat sila ay considered as stakeholders ng portal na ito,” Dar added.
The creation of the web-based info support is also in line with the effort to industrialize Philippine agriculture particularly, in creating the framework for the digitization of farming and agribusiness activities in the country.
“We also want to highlight the children of the farmers as they will serve as infomediaries of the technologies which they can get from this agri-information support portal,” Dar said. ### (Rita dela Cruz, DA-Communications Group)
