Philippines Government launches K-Agrinet project to benefit farmers

Los Banos, Laguna: In order to promote the use of ICTs to attain agricultural sustainability and competitiveness for the country's farmers, the Government of Philippines has launched a Knowledge Working Towards Enhancing Agricultural Communities Program or K-Agrinet project.

Image credits: CORBIS / Paul A. Souders / Philippine Farmers at Work in a Field

The project is a collaborative effort among the country's agencies to utilize information technology (IT) as a tool to fast-track the dissemination of agricultural and natural resources information and technologies to farmers, upland dwellers, and rural entrepreneurs.

Four institutional key players in the agriculture and natural resource sectors complement each other in the program's four areas of intervention, covering the stages of knowledge development and utilization.

The e-Learning led by the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), focuses on e-extension and distance learning for the agriculture extension workers.

The e-Consortia, led by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD), intensifies technology and knowledge generation and exchange among existing partner R&D Institutions through improved ICT tools and applications.

The e-Farm also led by DOST-PCARRD, promotes e-commerce by initiating e-based farm to market opportunities through the FITS centers and their respective Farmer-Scientists.

The e-Agrikultura, led by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), mobilizes and generates the participation of agrarian reform communities into the program.

Recent developments show that most of the regional R&D consortia have already conducted briefing and orientation on K-Agrinet and are now set for the program in their respective regions.