The Department of Agriculture (DA) is strengthening its partnership with the Philippine Statistics Authority to sharpen agricultural data collection. Both agencies looking to harness satellite technology and artificial intelligence to improve food production planning and strengthen the country’s food security.
Following a meeting between DA and PSA officials, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said better data sharing will allow policymakers to make more precise decisions on production, logistics, and food supply while ensuring government resources are directed where they are needed most.
“As they say, information is key to making the right decisions,” Tiu Laurel said. “Accurate and timely data will ensure that our food security objectives are met. It tells us where production is strong, where it is weak, and where government intervention is needed.”
Economic Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said closer collaboration between the two agencies is essential because agriculture and fisheries remain vital drivers of economic growth, employment, and national food supply.
“We want to assure the DA that we are generating reliable and accurate statistics,” said Mapa, adding that the discussions also focused on strengthening the capacity of local government units and DA-attached agencies to improve the quality of agricultural data. “The accuracy of data is critical in supporting sound policymaking,” he said.
The agencies also agreed to deepen the use of technology in agricultural statistics. Mapa said the PSA is already piloting the use of satellite imagery and AI to estimate crop production, techniques that have been adopted in several other countries.
He said the initiative would become more effective as the DA expands its field presence to validate satellite-generated information through on-the-ground verification.
Tiu Laurel also renewed his push to rebuild the DA’s corps of agricultural extension workers, describing them as the department’s missing “boots on the ground.” He said deploying DA personnel across municipalities would allow the agency to gather near real-time field data, improve forecasting, and respond more quickly to emerging issues affecting farmers and fisherfolk.
The agriculture chief also welcomed the conduct of a new national census this year, nearly a decade after the last one, saying updated population and consumption data would allow the government to better estimate future food requirements, fine-tune production targets, and prepare more precise budgets.
“Data should not simply tell us what happened,” Tiu Laurel said. “It should help us anticipate what comes next so the DA can be proactive, not reactive, in protecting the country’s food supply.”
