Rice data warehouse in the pipeline

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) is set to develop a public rice data warehouse, which aims to help the formulation of better decisions and policies.

In a statement, PhilRice said the PhilRice Data Analytics Initiative Project (RiceLytics) aims to enhance baselining and forecasting of status of rice farmers and the country’s  rice industry.

“ The data analytics models will automatically characterize the Filipino farmers, illustrate the Philippine rice industry situation, and monitor and evaluate the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program of DA-PhilRice,” said Nehemiah Caballong, project proponent of RiceLytics.

At present, generated reports on the status of rice farmers and performance of the rice industry are accessible through published briefers, infographics, books and slide presentations.

Caballong said the project would improve the traditional descriptive studies with new data analytics tools and techniques, and produce predictive and prescriptive analytics for stronger and wider insights.

“We will automate reports generation through the online dashboard, which will provide readily-available, easily-accessible, and always up-to-date information and insights,” he said.

In addition, users will be able to access historical, current, and predictive information about the rice farmers including the basic profile, issues and concerns, farming techniques, preferred technologies, aspirations, and capabilities.

“The public will also easily access data on rice area, production, yield per hectare, self-sufficiency, consumption, and future performance requirement at national, regional, provincial, and city/municipality levels,”PhilRice said.

PhilRice said the development of the RiceLytics started in January and is set to be completed in December 2022.

The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIERRD) under its Good Governance through Data Science and Decision Support System (GODDESS) program