Text your way to a farming career

After being laid off from work in Hong Kong, Rupe Inciong of Balayan, Batangas was in one tough situation.

At 42, he found it wasn’t easy applying for a job, and he needed to provide for his wife and three children. He had a piece of land in Leyte that he thought could probably be cultivated to grow rice, but he had zero knowledge of rice production, training, management, and extension. Inciong surfed the Internet, gathering basic information on how to grow rice, but felt he needed more.

He eventually came across the website of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice Online). There he read about the Farmers’ Call Center, the SMS (short messaging service) developed by the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OpAPA) to enable farmers and extension workers to consult technical experts through text messages.

The Open Academy tapped Smart Communications, Inc. to provide infrastructure to the service.

Inciong sent a text message to the hotline and inquired on trainings on rice production. In less than 24 hours, he got the information he wanted.

A month later he attended his first PhilRice seminar, where he was introduced to the fundamentals of rice farming. He learned about hybrid rice production and other employment opportunities in farming, the benefits of using organic fertilizers, proper pest control and waste management.

He became knowledgeable enough to start farming. He now tends to his six-hectare rice field in Leyte, and is looking forward to a productive season this May.

"That seminar helped me a lot," Inciong says. "I discovered that I could go into rice farming."

He doesn’t get to visit his farm often, but with the Farmers’ Call Center, he is confident that his farmers can handle any problems on their own. "They just text PhilRice experts," he says.

Queries texted to the 700RICE (700-7423) Smart SMS hotline are answered within 24 hours.

"The service aims to provide quick response. Some of the usual queries are what types of seeds to plant, how to use nutrients properly, how to manage pests, which machinery to use, and others related to production, selling, and information about our partner institutions," explains Roger Barroga, project director, Open Academy.

"We have assigned frontline agents to receive the text queries through keywords, and these agents will have to respond to the queries within 24 hours, or 72 hours, at most," adds Barroga.

From 11 texters at its August 2004 launch, the Farmers’ Call Center now averages 500 queries per month.

The service has been an effective helpline. For instance, it saved the pest-infested farm of Rodel Ortiz, of Dipaculao, Aurora, after his brother-in-law reported the problem. PhilRice experts responded by visiting the farm the very next day.

Remy Prieto had always wanted to buy a drumseeder, a special machine developed by PhilRice. All she had to do was text 700RICE, and a drumseeder from the PhilRice Engineering Mechanization Division was delivered to her farm.

To send text messages, key in PALAY to display the key words. For questions on rice and rice production, type PALAY INFORICE <your question>.and send to 700RICE.

Other topics and the corresponding key words are:

• fertilizers and nutrient management, PALAY ABONO

• latest varieties and available seed stock, PALAY BINHI

• hybrid rice production, PALAY HYBRID

• farm mechanization, PALAY MAKINA

• pests and crop management, PALAY PESTE

• enrolling in the virtual classroom, PALAY VCLASS

Send the key word and question to 700RICE (7007423). Each message costs P2.50. The service is available to Smart subscribers.

Bigger and better services are constantly being developed for the Farmers’ Call Center. For example, for the most frequently asked questions, there’s a new feature called INFO ON DEMAND.

"We will also be giving weekly farm tips coinciding with the farming cycle to farmers who register for the service," Barroga says.

Rice production is a major index of political and economic conditions of the country, rice farming being the prime source of income of over 2.5 million Filipinos. Thus the agricultural sector has turned to technology to constantly improve yield and farm management.

A study conducted by the Open Academy shows that approximately 17,000 extension workers barely have access to the latest agricultural data. With services like the Farmers’ Call Center, helpful agricultural information is within reach of those who need it most.