A staff from the Municipal Agriculture Office of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur orients farmers on Rice Crop Manager on March 15, 2019.
ESPERANZA, Agusan del Sur – The Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center (ATI-RTC) 13 facilitated the Rice Crop Manager (RCM) briefing with the assistance of the Municipal Agriculture Office staff of Esperanza on March 15, 2019.
Sixty-three (63) rice farmers from forty-seven (47) barangays of Esperanza were individually interviewed based on their farming practices. Each farmer received printed RCM recommendation for rice production which will serve as basis for this cropping season.
RCM is a web-based application tool which provides irrigated and rainfed lowland farmers with site and farmer-specific recommendations. It can be accessed through laptop, smartphones and tablet. ATI partners with the Department of Agriculture, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to help farmers increase their income and minimize production expenses through RCM.
Mr. Teodoro A. Ortega, Municipal Rice Coordinator, presented the overview and discussed the importance of PalayCheck System. He also highlighted the significance of proper timing for fertilizer application.
A total of 76 RCM recommendations were generated.