The Department of Agriculture (DA) will mobilize some 16,000 staff nationwide to fast-track the collection, updating and validation of stakeholders’ personal and farm data through the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
The DA said the updated records are essential for proper planning, implementation and monitoring of billions of pesos worth of agricultural projects and targeted interventions.
DA added the updating of RSBSA also dovetails the broader plan to digitalize operations to reduce costs in the food value chain, widen market access to make agriculture a more profitable venture and result into a more stable supply of reasonably-priced food.
DA undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro said latest estimates suggest there are 10 million farmers and fisherfolk in the country, many of whom are among the poorest.
DA had an initial list of 1.4 million of these stakeholders.
Navarro said the DA will cleanse the list of th agency’s beneficiaries by excluding farmworkers because they do not own the farm or crops and are only seasonally employed in farms.
He said they should instead be in the list of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for assistance purposes.
Labor statistics showed agriculture provides employment to one in every four Filipinos.
