Strengthening government-led initiatives and public-private partnerships can accelerate the commercialization and adoption of digital agriculture technologies, which are vital to modernize farm production and reduce the digital divide in the agri-food sector, a new study says.
A report published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) noted how the current Philippine Development Plan (PDP) has identified digital technology as part of the state’s strategy to achieve agriculture and fisheries industry modernization.
“Digital agriculture leads to economic benefit through increased productivity, efficiency, market opportunity, and environmental sustainability. Already, smallholders’ access to information, inputs, and markets are improving with the spread of mobile technologies, remote-sensing services, and distributed computing,” said the report entitled “Transforming Philippine Agri-Food Systems with Digital Technology: Extent, Prospects, and Inclusiveness.”
Digital agriculture refers to “ICT and data ecosystems to support the development and delivery of timely, targeted information and services to make farming profitable and sustainable while delivering safe nutritious and affordable food for all,” the paper said. Digital agriculture represents both a technological transformation in itself as well as a means to accelerate agricultural innovation.
However, digital agriculture is still far from being the choice of most farmers and other stakeholders in the agri-food system, said study authors Roehlano Briones, Ivory Galang, and Jokkaz Latigar. They pointed out that applications such as fintech and some types of automated agricultural equipment are still at the early development stage or at the prototype stage. More widely used, meanwhile, are online retail networks and farm advisory apps.
The document also predicts that elements of digital agriculture that are more likely to be moving into the mainstream within the next five years are decision support; computerization of public services; online advisory and extension services; crop management and monitoring systems; portable equipment; online retail; and online marketplaces.
The discussion paper further observed that based on government priorities and stakeholder interest, there are promising prospects for the expansion of digital agriculture tools, including decision support systems and online marketplaces.
In the medium term, government priorities and willingness to allocate budgets are crucial to underpin the healthy prospects for the wider dissemination of decision support and computerization of public services, the authors said.
“Meanwhile, on the demand side, there is strong interest among stakeholders, such as farmers, fisherfolk, and agribusiness companies, in information, advisory and extension services, as well as in portable equipment such drones, sensors, lasers for land leveling,” they added.
But the digital divide also ups the risks for worsening inequities between urban and rural areas, further leaving vulnerable populations behind. To bridge this divide, the paper suggests implementing strategies that include community organizing, developing rental markets, and investing in rural connectivity.
The report identified key policy recommendations to support PDP strategies aimed at transitioning to digital agriculture. These include harmonizing government data and advisory services in view of the conflicting data and advice from decision support systems deployed by different agencies on crop suitability, land and climate characteristics, base maps, parcel maps, and other relevant information.
Also suggested are creating a single government portal for digital agriculture to address the proliferation of farm advisory apps and provide links to the various advisory tools provided by government; and integrating digital solutions to standardize farm management in the Department of Agriculture’s clustering and consolidation program.
Other major recommendations are expanding decision support systems in efforts toward diversification and climate resiliency, and establishing a centralized e-commerce platform catering to MSMEs to resolve the inefficient rise of e-commerce platforms under various state agencies.
Also proposed are investing in traceability, food safety, registration and certification, and good agricultural practices to upgrade the agri-food system; exploring entry points for private sector participation; and engaging in skills enhancement programs to assist smallholder farmers and target the landless agricultural workers.
Source: PHILEXPORT News and Features
