Department of Agriculture Aims to Enhance Data Accuracy with Registry Update

MANILA — The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday its initiative to update the electronic database for farmers and fisherfolk, aiming to refine the accuracy of its interventions and projects.

According to Philippines News Agency, the update will involve revising the current registry, which previously listed 1.4 million stakeholders out of an estimated total of 10 million in the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

Navarro explained that the update, originally scheduled for completion last year, faced delays due to the logistical challenges of covering the country’s numerous islands. To expedite this process, the DA plans to deploy approximately 16,000 staff members across the nation. These staff members will undertake the task of collecting, updating, and validating personal and farm data from farmers, farmworkers, fisherfolk, and agri-youth. Additionally, the DA seeks the cooperation of local government units to assist in this comprehensive data collection and verification effort.

The primary goal of this registration and record update is to ensure the accuracy of the estimated population of stakeholders and to identify those who are genuinely in need of the agency’s assistance. Navarro emphasized the importance of distinguishing between farmers and farmworkers in the registry, noting that farmworkers, who are seasonally employed and do not own the land or crops, should receive support from other government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“This will allow us to cleanse the list for better use of our resources,” Navarro stated, highlighting the initiative’s focus on improving the efficiency of resource allocation.

In 2022, the DA began enhancing its management information system to bolster the monitoring of its projects and interventions and to enable real-time recording of agri-fishery data. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. has issued memoranda detailing the latest parameters for the registry’s update, endorsing the digitalization project as a means to improve the DA’s operational efficiency, project implementation, and monitoring.

Tiu-Laurel is also contemplating the establishment of an agricultural statistics office to further enhance the DA’s capacity for managing food demand and production, aiming to maximize benefits for farmers and reduce the need for food importation.