Agri dep’t to digitally track rice supply, prices

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday that it will launch a command center to track the rice supply chain in November.

The facility, fed with trade data primarily from the Osiris system of the Bureau of Plant Industry, will initially focus on the rice value chain — “an essential but challenging staple in the Philippines,” the DA said in a statement.

“Wild swings in rice prices could unsettle economic assumptions, particularly those tied to inflation,” it said.

The digital nerve center will consolidate critical data including production, imports, stock levels, various types of products and wholesale and retail prices.

It will also collect data on consumption rates, production and post-harvest infrastructure, utilization, irrigation coverage, spoilage, and global market trends.

“The DA has most of these data, but they are scattered across various agencies,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

“We must bring them together and make market sense of them, plus gather additional data that we lack, so we can use our limited resources more efficiently and productively,” he added.

The DA said “sharper forecasting” of supply and demand will be provided by the command center — facilitated by the expected restoration of regulatory powers over the rice industry to the DA and National Food Authority through amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law.

Improved forecasting accuracy will provide “much-needed predictability” and improved incomes for rice farmers, it added.

The command center model will later be applied to high-value crops, livestock, poultry, and fisheries. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza