A total of 32 participatively engaged themselves to a Training on Use and Operation of the Outcome-based Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Tool under 4D Farms at Tabuk City, Kalinga from February 26-29, 2024.
Mr. Bongbong L. Buli-e, the project officer of the training acknowledged that as the world transitioned to the 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR), the Department of Agriculture adapted to modernize the agriculture industry through digitalization. One of the ways to digitalize the sector is with the use of Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM). As a result, the DA, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed the Rice Crop Manager Advisory Service (RCMAS) which provides a one-page Rice crop management advisory tool that encompasses various stages of rice crop production such as crop establishment, fertilizer, pesticide, irrigation, and weed management practices as well harvest prediction through historical data and crop variety characteristics.
This tool has been proven to be a complimentary tool in various programs of the department. It has been used as the basis for the distribution of fertilizer vouchers through the Rice Resiliency Program (RRP) as well as the farm and farm lot registration as the basis for the Registry System for Basic Sector in Agriculture (RSBSA) to which it provides data on a farm lot size of the farmer. However, data shows that there is low adoption of the RCMAS due to several factors. Hence, the DA and IRRI enhanced the RCMAS to broaden the reach and adoption of RCMAS and monitor the adoption of various programs of the department.
In addition, the project officer said that the 4DFarms’ monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) application served as a digital tool for DA’s Rice Program to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the various rice program interventions for farmers.
Mr. Ian Watawat, the Technical Support Staff of the PMEU served as the resource person throughout the training activity. He sumptuously gave all the details on how the MEL should be undertaken and how to gather the data through an interview with the farmers. With the intensive training and hands-on exercise on the random sampling procedure and familiarization with the MEL application and its use would ensure quality information for analysis and reporting.
During the closing activity, Mr. Louis Andrei H. Luna, Supervising Agriculturist of the Office of the City Agriculture Services of Tabuk City said that the City of the Tabuk is grateful for choosing the City as the venue of the activity. He pointed out that the training is very important since this is about Monitoring and Evaluation of the subsidies provided by the government through the Department of Agriculture. He hoped that the participants gained knowledge about the activity and later apply in their own work and assignments.
The MEL is part of the RCMAS which is an app which is accessible either online and offline mode. As an output of the training, the participants were able to interview 174 farmers coming from the 10 different sites which are as follows: Barangays Socbot, Mapaco, and Cawagayan of Pinukpuk; Liwan East, Liwan West, and Macutay of Rizal; and Lacnog East, Lacnog West, Agbannawag, and Bulo of Tabuk City.
