Carrascal farmers were eager to learn about Rice Crop Manager (RCM) during a briefing held at the Municipal Tennis Court, Carrascal, Surigao del Sur. Sixty-one farmers, who arrived in batches, underwent briefing and interviews before receiving their customized fertilizer recommendations.
CARRASCAL, Surigao del Sur – The Information Services Section (ISS) of ATI-RTC 13 conducted a Rice Crop Manager (RCM) Briefing at the Municipal Tennis Court of this town last March 25, 2021. A total of 61 farmers were interviewed and 116 fertilizer recommendations were generated.
The RCM is a web-based advisory service that provides irrigated and rainfed lowland rice farmers with a crop and nutrient management guideline customized to the needs of an individual farmer. The recommendations are based on farmer's answers to questions on their rice farming practices and aimed at increasing farmer's net income.
After the interview, the collected information is stored on an internet-connected computer and other ICT equipment. Collected information is then transmitted via the Internet where it will be calculated and sent back to the computer, smartphone, or tablet. The recommendations are unique and matches the location-specific cropping practices and needs of a farmer. These are given out to farmers as a one-page printout.
The concept and framework for RCM were developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Meanwhile, the nutrient management recommendation is based on the principles of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM).