PH Internet Is Fastest-Growing In SEA – And Aggie Extension Still Relies On Radio!?

The November news is that the PH Internet business is now #1 in growth in all of Southeast Asia (SEA), but I hardly see a sign of it in agricultural extension! The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) is 30 years old; digital extension should Now be the mode and mood, but No. We’re still relying mostly on Radio as extension tool for agriculture?!
(inset radio image[1] from FarmRadio.fm)

Revin Mikhael D Ochavesays, “PHL Is The Fastest-Growing Internet Economy In Southeast Asia – Report[2]” (11 Nov 2021, BusinessWorld), “fueled by e-commerce and food delivery services,” according to a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co. The e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report says, “Overall, the Philippines was the fastest-growing market in the region, driven by strict lockdowns as well as a tipping point on the adoption of certain digital services.”

When are we going to adopt & deliver digital knowledgeservices?!

Are the ATI people afraid that the digital tools are difficult to master? They must be encouraged. I learned on my own how to become all-digital 21 years ago – doing the writing, editing, image manipulating, desktop publishing magazines and books. And uploading, blogging. For the last 2 years, I have been blogging everyday, and I love it! And yes, I’m 81 years old.

Since ATI is under the Department of Agriculture (DA), which is headed by Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, and since it was Mr Dar himself 20 years ago who proposed the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture(OpAPA):

I believe it is the duty of the ATI to revive & build that data & information bank on PH Agriculture so that any number, kind & complexity of training can be concocted and conducted, readily online. We should now all be travelling the Information Superhighway, for God’s sake!

Aside from helping formally train thousands of people online, OpAPA would give untold numbers of individuals the chance to discover for themselves the who, what, where, when, why and how-to for something or other in the growing of any crop or livestock, or any combination thereof – OpAPA should be as complex and complete as to accommodate all desires & designs for knowledge!

“The Philippines also added 12 million new digital consumers since the pandemic started in March 2020. Of this, 63% are from non-metro areas. Majority also said they plan to continue using these services even after the pandemic.”

Absorb that data! This is the time to take advantage of such digital awareness and cultivate it, by offering mind-enriching bytes of agriculture of any complexity – the would-be learner decides for oneself.

I just saw on Facebook that Agriculture Undersecretary for Administration & Finance Roldan G Gorgonio, who is also the chairperson for Ease of Doing Business, Transparent Procurement, and Digital Agriculture Upscaling, on Friday, 12 Nov 2021 “unveiled the first-ever Digital Agriculture Command Center” of the DA during the closing of the “Seminar Workshop On Automated Government Service Management System For The Regulatory Agencies Of The DA.”

So, what is the ATI waiting for?!@517

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[1]https://farmradio.fm/

[2]https://www.bworldonline.com/phl-is-the-fastest-growing-internet-economy-in-southeast-asia-report/?fbclid=IwAR32al5QzX5zzxPMaO9wAeC40NOgiYVBrWan5fyUz9QRC3KbySptI8kjbiQ