Farmers and fishermen, including other stakeholders, can now directly connect with the different offices of the Department of Agriculture 24 hours everyday, seven days a week.
The DA Information and Communications Technology Services (DA-ICTS) launched a new Smartphone application, FARM or Fisheries and Agriculture Response Management Citizens Application, which would enable farmers, fisher folks and other agriculture stakeholders to directly send their concerns and submit complaints and get an immediate response.
The “FARM” Citizens App is part of the “Digitalization of Agriculture” initiatives and technology modernization program of the Department of Agriculture.
The technology, including the Mobile Responders which will be distributed to DA Attached Agencies, Corporations and Regional Field Offices all over the country and the setup of a 24/7 Unified Operations Center similar to the operations of 911 Command Center.
Using a Smartphone, the user could just go to the IOS Apps Store or Android Google Play he would find “FARM Citizens App” which he could tap to download the application for Free.
Once downloaded, the user could start following instructions which would be shown in the phone screen.
He could tap the name of an office if his concerns are with a specific bureau, corporation or attached agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
For example, a farmer who would like to request for a technical information on a disease affecting his fruit trees, could simply take a photo of the diseased plant and send it to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
The information will immediately be forwarded to the BPI by the OpCen as soon as the offices open the following morning.
In cases of extreme emergency, the user could call using the Hotline button which would be indicated once the FARM Citizens App is downloaded. Damage to crops or vital farm infrastructures like roads or bridges could be easily responded to.
The phone application will also warn farmers and fisher folks of incoming typhoons or weather disturbances and provide information on when rains are expected. It would also give fisher folks an advisory when it is not safe to go out to sea to fish.
The FARM Citizens App Operations Center will be able to pinpoint the exact GPS location of the user at the time the message is received, thus providing a faster system to extend help immediately.
The DA Secretary will also be able to monitor the FARM system’s events and the whereabouts of DA top officials because each will be given a special phone or a Mobile Responders which could be tracked.
The DA-ICTS technical teams will start a nationwide information campaign to instruct farmer-leaders, fisher folk associations and other agriculture stakeholders on how to use the phone application.
FARM Citizens App is an application which the DA will be using to give farmers, fisher folks and stakeholders greater access to the department.
It is also expected to improve transparency and accountability in the Department of Agriculture.
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