CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--In partnership with the Misamis Oriental Provincial Agriculture Office, the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO)-10 conducted a Digital Information Management Training-Workshop for the Agricultural Report Officers from 21 local government units (LGUs) in Misamis Oriental, December 2, in Gusa, here.
The training specifically aims to capacitate the Municipal Agriculture Offices of the different LGUs in Misamis Oriental to adopt electronic reporting method, using the Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS), an electronic database developed by the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAGRO).
Engr. Evy Elago, head of PAGRO’s Agricultural Biosystem Engineering Division, said the AIMS was developed in 2019 to improve the province’s agricultural information management.
The system eases updating of information that is crucial in the planning and decision-making, to further develop the province’s agriculture.
“Information is a resource. If we have enough information we know our priorities and we are better guided in developing our programs and services. We can project the support needed by the farmers in terms of production and marketing. Thus, it is imperative that we invest in information” Elago said.
Through the AIMS agricultural data such as kinds of crops planted in the province, the number of crops planted, farmers’ profile, farmers associations’ profile, and the market situation can be easily accessed from the AIMS.
The LGUs’ report officers were trained on data consolidation, data encoding, and uploading, and report generation to navigate the AIMS.
Restraining data management issues and concerns were also addressed during the training.
Chona Nacalaban, chief of the DA-10 Provincial Operations Center in Misamis Oriental, highly encouraged the LGUs to adopt electronic reporting, particularly in their submission of agricultural accomplishments and agri-related updates to the PAGRO and the DA-RFO 10.
“Electronic reporting is paperless, thus a more convenient reporting method for the LGUs and for the DA. Not to mention, it can also systematize the LGUs’ reporting system,” said Nacalaban.
She added that specific agricultural data needed in the provincial and the regional levels are readily accessible in the system, making it more convenient to make timely decisions to improve the programs and services of the DA.
Elago thanked the DA-RFO 10 for continuously supporting the PAGRO’s initiative in digitizing the province’s agricultural information database.
“We encountered resistance in the early stages, but we are happy that we have gone far with the support of the DA-RFO 10 particularly the Provincial Operations Center, who constantly backed our efforts in digitizing our information management in the PAGRO,” Elago said. (DA-10/PIA-10)
