Some 160 rice and corn program implementers in Bohol Province attended the two-day CY 2025 Rice and Corn Physical Area Harmonization Workshop conducted by the Department of Agriculture – Central Visayas (DA7) on May 27–28, 2025, in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
This is to align and harmonize the existing data on rice and corn in terms of the physical areas across the provinces of the region to a more or most realistic data.
Key topics presented were data on rice and corn physical area, discussed by Engr. Epifanio P. Gaudicos Jr., Rice Program Focal Person, and Lavinia Corpus, Corn Program Focal Person, respectively.
Other presentations include PSA rice and corn data by municipality, along with the protocols and mechanics for data collection and processing (classified by irrigated and rainfed areas); previous and current PRISM data (CY 2020–2024) per municipality; Rice and Corn RSBSA Physical Area Data (by municipality); Current Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) data on rice and corn physical areas; Irrigated areas by municipality and Small Scale Irrigation Projects (SSIP) with corresponding service areas.
In the workshop, corn and rice implementers underwent hands-on workshop which focus on harmonizing rice and corn databases, aligning the physical area data to seed utilization, irrigated areas (NIA-NIS, CIS, and DA7-SSIPs), and rainfed areas of each LGU with the regional database. This is an essential step toward ensuring consistency and accuracy in agricultural data for better planning and implementation.
The activity was able to convenethe key stakeholders from DA7 led by RTD for Operations Cirilo N. Namoc and Gerry S. Avila, Chief of the Field Operations Division, representatives from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA 7) and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA 7), along with participants from the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA), Municipal Agricultural Officers (MAOs), Municipal Agriculturists (MAs), and Corn and Rice Technicians from various municipalities across Bohol.