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Information gap a challenge to sustainable food production – FAO
Access to information and communications technology (ICT) is among the challenges to sustainable food production and the agriculture sector in the Philippines, the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday.
“The information gap in agriculture affects the entire chain from farmers to traders, policy-makers and consumers and we recognize that this is one of the leading challenges to sustainable food production," José Luis Fernández, FAO representative in the Philippines, said in a statement.
"With the rapid development of ICTs, the agriculture sector has a great opportunity to find cost-effective solutions and accelerate the flow of more reliable data and information. Having a strategy and ensuring its alignment with other government plans will also prevent individual e-agriculture projects and services from being implemented in isolation,” Fernández added.
The FAO said it is supporting the Philippine government in formulating a national strategy to maximize the use of ICT in agriculture.
"To ensure that ICT-related investments in the country’s agriculture sector are optimized and harmonized, the FAO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are supporting the government in formulating a national e-agriculture strategy," it said.
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ICT platforms have the potential to significantly enhance and accelerate the flow of information across a complex network of stakeholders and throughout the value chain with their accessibility and relative cost-effectiveness.
According to the FAO, an e-agriculture strategy is being developed with the Department of Agriculture (DA) as lead implementing agency and in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“The aim is to make ICT, through this national e-agriculture strategy, support the required services to ‘make food available and affordable’ to the people,” the DA's Information and Communications Technology Service Director Clint Hassan said.
The project is part of a larger FAO-ITU partnership to strengthen the e-agriculture environment and develop ICT-mediated solutions for countries in Asia-Pacific.
“ICT is seen as a vital instrument that will greatly aid in stimulating agriculture, enhancing food security, provide easier access to markets and information sources that will support rural livelihoods,” DICT Director Nestor Bongato said. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News