News > e-Pinoy FARMS® launched in Pangasinan; more than 1,000 attendees

e-Pinoy FARMS® launched in Pangasinan; more than 1,000 attendees

1 August 2008
Christmas B. de Guzman

Optiserve Technologies, Inc. CEO Cheryl Marie Natividad (2nd from right) presents and hands over the e-Pinoy FARMS® manual and farmer's access card to BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar (3rd from right) and Regional Executive Director Cipriano Santiago (third from left). Joining them are: (L-R): Provincial Administrator Nestor Batalla, Ret. Gen. Marcelo Blando, and e-Pinoy FARMS® Project Coordinator Eduvigis Angeles.

More than 1,000 participants including farmers, academicians, students, and members of various national and local government agencies, local attended the official launching of the e-Pinoy Farm Resource Management System (e-Pinoy FARMS®). Leading the activity was the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), together with Optiserve Technologies, Inc on 1 August 2008 at Capability Building Center, Pangasinan State University (PSU) in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan.

e-Pinoy FARMS® is a unified database program designed to support and improve the decision-making process of the specific community-based activities. It intends to enable farmers' organization, cooperatives, and agribusiness enterprises to record their transactions and operations.

The launching served as a kick-off activity in the nationwide implementation of the Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) integrating the use of e-Pinoy FARMS®, particularly in various Department of Agriculture- Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers (DA-RIARCs) and local government units (LGUs).

Leading the launching were BAR Director Nicomedes Eleazar; BAR Assistant Director Teodoro Solsoloy; Regional Executive Director Cipriano Santiago; Vice-President for Research and Extension Honorio Cascolan; Sta. Maria, Pangasinan Mayor Jose Ginez, Provincial Administrator Nestor Batalla; Asingan, Pangasinan Mayor Carlos Lopez, Sr.; and Rosales, Pangasinan Mayor Ricardo Revita.

Atty. Santiago, RED of Region I, delivered the opening remarks stating his appreciation for choosing Pangasinan as the launching venue. "Pangasinan is very lucky to have the highest opportunity in getting acquainted with the new technology," he said.

To provide the participants a brief orientation on the essentials of the e-Pinoy FARMS® and how the system functions, Ms. Cheryl Marie Natividad, chief executive officer (CEO) of Optiserve Technologies, Inc., discussed the role of information management and value creation for research, development, and extension (RDE). She said, "In looking for alternative solutions, farmers used their basic knowledge/experience to solve the problem."

Meanwhile, Dr. Marlowe Aquino, head of the Management Information Systems Division (MISD) of BAR gave details on the effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation of CPAR through e-Pinoy FARMS®. In his presentation, he emphasized that participatory monitoring and evaluation is important for learning about the achievement and or deviation from original concerns and problems faced by local development projects and programs being implemented, so that corrective measures can be taken in time.

At the launching ceremony, Ms. Natividad presented and handed over the e-Pinoy FARMS® manual and farmer's access card to Atty. Santiago who represented the LGUs and the whole agricultural sector in the province. She was assisted by Dir. Eleazar.

Consecutively, Dr. Jovita Datuin, RIARC manager of the Ilocos Integrated Agricultural Research Center (ILIARC), presented the "Community-based Participatory Action Research: Enhancing the Productivity and Profitability by Accelerating Transfer in Farming Communities in Region 1."

In closing, Dir. Eleazar acknowledged the farmers of Pangasinan for the support they showed and willingness to adopt and incorporate new modalities to their community-based activities.