Department of Agriculture, May 14, 2011

The ongoing registry of farmers in Quezon Province for the country’s first-ever comprehensive farm and farmers database program is going full blast as 40 towns will simultaneously conduct data collection starting next week.

At the same time, the other towns where interviews of farmers began last April 25 would start sending in the initial set of collected data for encoding by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

This was announced by the DA regional office in Southern Tagalog, citing the conclusion of training for its last two batches of interviewers last May 5.

These latest sets of interviewers, who had their training in Pagbilao town, were intended to conduct the farmers’ registry in District 1, 3 and 4 through house-to-house and group interviews.

The Farmers’ registry, kicking off in Tiaong and San Antonio towns in late April, is part of the data collection process under the DA’s Unified and Enterprise Geospatial Information System, otherwise known as Komputerisasyon ng Agrikultura para SA MAunlad na KAnayunan, or KASAMA KA.

Making up KASAMA KA are the National Farmers’ Registry System, the Inventory System of Agriculture & Fishery Investments, and the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZs) thematic maps.

Together, these will constitute a clear and complete picture, or a detailed map, of the country’s agricultural landscape.

“This database will therefore enhance the DA’s responsiveness, quality of public service, and effectiveness in helping improve the lives of our farmers and fisherfolk through appropriate policies and programs,” said Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala.

Quezon is thus the first province in the country and in Luzon to see the rollout of KASAMA KA. The farmers in two other provinces – Leyte in the Visayas and Bukidnon in Mindanao – will undergo similar interviews this year.

KASAMA KA interviews in the rest of the country’s 80 provinces will continue next year up to 2014.

The interviews will enable the DA to gather complete and accurate data on farmers’ socioeconomic profiles, landholdings, crops, tools, equipment, and infrastructure facilities and related assets, among others.

The data gathered will be encoded and programmed for convenient access only by specific authorities but under an airtight information security management system, thus ensuring the confidentiality of the farmers’ personal information.

The database will provide the DA with accurate information about the actual state of the industry, its risks and vulnerabilities, critical gaps in governance, and the specific investment needs of every locality.

“This (database) will give the DA a highly reliable basis for decision-making, particularly in policy formulation and in conducting prompt government interventions when and where these are most needed, especially during calamities,” Alcala explained.

He said the database, when completed, would also enable the DA to allocate resources rationally and efficiently to generate maximum returns for the farmer-beneficiaries.

“Thus, it is very important for every farmer to be included in this database so as to be given priority in the allocation of government resources,” Alcala stressed.

The choice of Quezon, Leyte and Bukidnon as the first three provinces for the KASAMA KA rollout is based on a vulnerability assessment conducted by the DA to determine which areas are threatened with the biggest possible agricultural damage from calamities. # # #(DA Information Service)

Source: Department of Agriculture