The participants, who took part in the workshop spearheaded by freelance statistician Sheena Balinsoy, were report officers and technical staff from the five banner programs, Research Division, Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division, and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division of DA 6.

Balinsoy discussed the basic statistical concepts and data sources, Time Series concepts, and Time Series Analysis using the AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Modelling in the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Other than that, participants were also capacitated in generating local production forecasts using ARIMA and SPSS, especially on rice, corn, vegetables, livestock, and other significant commodities in the region.

DA Western Visayas stressed that reliable production forecasts will likewise aid the agency in creating responses to the current and emerging farming issues such as the increasing input prices and climate conditions to avert further production shortfalls. (JBG/FRG/PIA6/Story and photos from DA-RFO VI, RAFIS)