TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) has urged local government units (LGUs) in Kalinga and in the different provinces of the region to re-evaluate and asses their present listing of farmers, fisherfolk, and farm laborers for them to have better access to the programs and projects offered by the government through the various attached agencies of the department.
In the recent Provincial Implementors Meeting (PIM) and Provincial Coordination Meeting (PCM) held in the city, DA-CAR Agriculture Program Coordinating Office (APCO) Head Balag-ey Claver stressed the need for an accurate and updated gathering of data entry to the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) for the targeted beneficiaries.
“The entry of data by the municipal and provincial LGUs to the RSBSA should be accurate so that the targeted beneficiaries will have access to the different programs and projects of the DA. This is an important requirement of the government under the DA that will show transparency and accountability in the distribution of support to the farmers, fisherfolk, and farm laborers which are the beneficiaries under DA,” Claver said.
The RSBSA is a registry of farmers, fisherfolk, and farm laborers that serves as a targeting mechanism for the identification of beneficiaries for the different agriculture-related programs and services of the government.
In line with the first and second components of the updating of the RSBSA which are the profiling of farmers and fishers, and the georeferencing of farm parcels was added to identify the exact farm locations and interventions.
In parcel georeferencing, farm production areas are measured, including other physical parameters that serve as guide for government interventions to be more suitable to increase farmers’ and fisherfolk’s productivity and incomes, and make their operations resilient and sustainable.
Joel Briones of the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division (PMED) of DA-CAR explained that as of August 27 this year, the Province of Kalinga having a targeted RSBSA registration of 28,974 farmers has recorded 38,995 registrations, or a 134% registered farmers making Kalinga the leading area in the region with the most number of RSBSA registered farmers.
Abra is second having 34,663 target registrations but has gathered 44,923 or 129% accomplishment of registered farmers, Apayao is third with 18,288 target registrations gathering a total of 23,096 or 126% accomplishment of registered farmers.
Mountain Province is at fourth with 47,483 target registrations gathering a total of 52,969 for 111% accomplishment of registered farmers, followed by Ifugao with 56,370 targeted registrations gathering 49,836 or 88% accomplishment of registered farmers. Benguet having 104,627 targeted registrations is in sixth place having a total of 71,705 or 68% accomplishment of registered farmers.
“As of August 1 this year, the Cordillera region has an RSBSA target registration of 290,405 with a total of 281,524 registered farmers, with a 97% accomplishment of registered farmers. The data excludes duplicated information, data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Philippine Coconut Authority as well as deceased and inactive records of farmers, fisher folks, and farm laborers,” Briones stated.
On georeferencing, DA-CARs PMED recorded 6,096 farmers georeferenced, 10,505 parcels validated, 7,778.71 areas measured through the Global Positioning System, with the actual-total hectares verified recorded at 3,746.04 hectares uploaded by the georeferencing platform.
Briones added beneficiaries wanting to update their RSBSA data to visit the RSBSA Finder application for registry verification while coordinating with their respective municipal and provincial agriculture officers for RSBSA updating. By JTLlanes
