DA to 'digitalize' distribution of farm inputs

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday said it will digitalize the distribution of seeds, fertilizers, and other farm inputs in a bid to reduce delays that could affect productivity.

In a statement, the Agriculture Department said the procurement and distribution of seeds and fertilizers used to take 90 days to complete “but with the digitalization of the system, clustered farmers would now enjoy nearly real-time payouts through this cashless transaction.”

The DA said it will pilot the digital distribution this coming dry season.

The agency said each of its 15 regional field offices would identify a municipality where merchants would sell their goods to clustered farmers using the Intervention Monitoring Cards (IMC) held by farmers for their purchases.

The IMC cards would function like an ATM or e-wallet where money can be issued for every transaction, according to Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian.

The DA said with digitalization, the traditional bulk procurement by DA field offices fertilizers and seeds, which they distribute to rice farmers, would be removed.

Instead, the clustered farmers will choose their own fertilizers and seeds in bulk from merchants selling their desired seeds and biofertilizer, organic or chemical fertilizers and microbial inoculants for the soil.

This then becomes a seamless transaction between clustered farmers and the merchants, it said.

“This drastically departs from previous practice where farmers just had to accept whatever the DA RFOs supply them, which some of them do not find useful for their farms,” said Sebastian.

“Aside from being inclusive, this digital process empowers farmers to choose their own stocks of inputs and seeds and the merchants that offer them the best quality of goods and best price. This way, the fertilizer scams of years past will be removed in the system,” added the DA official.

Sebastian added that since the distribution is digitalized, traceability of transactions is easier, “thus making the system more transparent.”

“In addition, the bulk system of procurement and distribution of the past which only qualified big suppliers and producers will now include micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) producers and distributors of seeds and farm inputs, making the process all-inclusive,” he said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News