Mindanaotoday.com | Camiguin steps up agri data banking via FITS
By: Recthie Paculba
CAMIGUIN – Even with the province’s establishment of the Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) center in 2007, the provincial government still sees the need to improve the data banking on agriculture, thus, the conduct of the FITS orientation, February 3, at the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) Conference Hall.
“We have downloaded the work to the barangay without really informing them, nga ang uban gani nakurat kay niabot ra sa ila (others were even surprised to see the workload). So that’s the feedback of the barangay,” said Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Member Louis Bollozos, who is also the committee chair on agriculture.
He further added that FITS is very important, especially in assessing the agricultural situation in an area as well as improving government interventions and services to the sector. This, after noting that reports submitted to the SP have a lot of discrepancies.
Cresencio Loquellano, OIC supervising agriculturist, stated that with FITS, data will be accurate, and the province will not be embarrassed to submit reports to the Department of Agriculture-10 (DA-10) and other relevant agencies.
Twenty-six people from the five towns in the province took part in this activity. They learned about the system’s features and how it works through hands-on training and workshops.
FITS is a facility that provides information and technology services. Its goal is to improve farmers’, traders’, processors’, entrepreneurs’, and other stakeholders’ access to information and technologies in agriculture and natural resources.
It also responds to client needs through a technology clinic, training, caravans, the sale of planting supplies, linking, and business growth. (RTP | PIA-10 | Camiguin)
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