ANN says “DA Launches First National Center For Precision And
Digital Agriculture” (Author Not Named, 06
May 2022, Department of Agriculture, DA.gov.ph):
Agriculture Secretary
William D Dar spearheaded the inauguration of the Precision and Digital
Agriculture Center (PreDiC) facilities located in Central Luzon State
University (CLSU), Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
In the field of precision and digital agriculture, the
Department of Agriculture (DA) is starting from scratch.
During the
inauguration ceremony on 06 May, Secretary Dar encouraged PreDiC officials and
staff to continue bringing in the latest prediction and digital agriculture
technologies and to adapt them to the Philippine setting to further improve
agricultural production in the country.
In the lower image above, from DataLoop (dataloop.ai),
a digitally operated drone sprays the field of what looks like corn. This is
precision technology. This is an example of what I think PreDiC is aiming at. I
understand Mr Dar is encouraging PreDiC experts to scout around the world and
digitize the knowledge as PreDiC content.
“Digital agriculture” to me includes “stored web knowledge in
agriculture aimed at being used.” I remember Mr Dar proposing in the early
2000s the “Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OpAPA)” when he was Director
General of ICRISAT. Mr Dar turned ICRISAT from dead last to #1, a dream agency
among the 15 international research agencies under the CGIAR; unfortunately OpAPA,
which was not directly guided by him, remained a dream.
For OpAPA, I was hired as a communication consultant by PhilRice.
To help operationalize the concept, I wrote an entirely digital book, The Geography Of Knowledge (TGoK), 198
pages, that I submitted to Roger Barroga,
my immediate supervisor, on 28 Dec 2003. I still have a digital TGoK – I
created the whole thing/think out of the mud of my thoughts and knowledge, so I
valued it that much. Unfortunately, there was no reaction from PhilRice.
Today I want to revise TGoK and submit to PreDIC to enhance
its Digital Agriculture – I call my proposal now Popular Science (PopScience), a Knowledge Bank containing technical
knowledge translated into and/or interpreted in popular language. The
explanations or elucidations of English terms will be understandable by 3rd
year high school students.
PopScience will capture & via a website will present already-existing
technologies & systems and make them available electronically to schooled as
well as unschooled farmers.
PopScience is designed as a digital library for all farmers,
presenting:
1.
All known pieces of knowledge necessary for a
specific technology, or system.
2.
Options and choices for each knowledge
component, such as varieties of rice, location of farm, system of production,
harvesting methods, processing of harvest, markets etc.
3.
Machines & equipment for specific purposes explained.
4.
Credit sources & terms, including banks
& cooperatives.
5.
Experiences of successful farmers.
PopScience will be useful for formulating training as
necessary.
PopScience will later be translated into Tagalog, Ilocano,
Bisaya, Muslim etc.)
Not
to forget, PopScience will be searchable even by cellphone!@517
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