The Farm Technology and Services Department (FTSD) of the National Tobacco Administration conducted a virtual training on the use of mobile applications for data collection on various projects of the agency and other tobacco-related activities and facilities, held via Microsoft Teams on January 17.
The one-day training was attended by the extension workers and senior staff from the various branch offices of the agency.
Objective of the training is to enable extension workers to be familiarized with the Survey 123 application for data collection and monitoring of the Tobacco Contract Growing System (TCGS) project, and the ArcGIS (geographic information system) application for the Development of Tobacco-Related Activities and Facility Maps for the Stakeholders of the Tobacco Industry (TRAFMAP).
FTSD launched TRAFMAP last year with the pilot implementation of the project in Ilocos Norte.
According to FTSD Officer in Charge Engr. Felisa R. Aurellano, the project implementers were able to identify, locate and monitor, and come up with a map containing all the socio-demographics, tobacco farmers in specific locations and monitor production activities.
She added that the TRAFMAP project is keeping pace with technological advancement to generate web maps, story maps, and operations dashboards that will be embedded in the NTA official website.“
With the mobile TCGS monitoring, we will do away with manual filing of forms, thereby saving time, effort, and resources; and affording us faster data generation,” added Aurellano.
Acting Deputy Administrator for Operations Engr. Cesario G. Sambrana, in his message, encourage the extension workers to use the apps to come up with an accurate record of the volume of tobacco production per municipality in relation to the total area planted to tobacco.
“This will help us address issues concerning volume of production as basis for the shares of local government units from the tobacco excise tax collections,” he said.
FTSD is also conducting Geographical Information System for its Monitoring on Soil and Water Quality in Different Tobacco-growing Areas Project.
Adapting to technology innovations including digital agriculture is a priority project of NTA Administrator/CEO Robert Victor G. Seares Jr., in line with the OneDA Reform Agenda key strategies for transforming Philippine agriculture.
[Rhonelle P. Sulicipan / Photo credit: NTA FTSD]