Searca & Asean Want Access To Big Data – Meanwhile, UPLB Is An Unmoving Giant!

 

On 26 April 2021, based at UP Los Baños, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) sponsored the “1st Knowledge Sharing Workshop” with Asean member states (AMS). Meanwhile, UPLB was unmoving in the digital front!

Searca’s headquarters is right next to the University Library in the campus of UP Los Baños in Laguna. An alumnus coming in and going out of the campus in the last 61 years, I know UPLB is smart in the science of agriculture but sleepy when it comes to digitization of that science. I know: Digital is taught only to a limited few; and it’s difficult teaching yourself digital. Nonetheless, it is necessary that:

Physician, heal yourself!
Professor, teach yourself!

This is in fact the second such event. ANN says, “SEARCA Holds 2nd Knowledge Sharing Workshop On Digital Technologies In The Agricultural Sector With Asean And ERIA[1]” (Author Not Named, 14 May 2021, Searca.org). Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and ERIA is the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia.

ANN says:

The activity looks further into the experiences of Asean member states…. It (is) also a platform to discuss their inputs and gather suggestions for the development of a set of guidelines to equip the ASEAN region with recommendations and implementation considerations for making informed decisions that will shape the digital transformation of agriculture in the region.

The ultimate goal? “Digital transformation of agriculture in the (Asean) region.” Big Data applied to Agriculture by the Agriculturists. And if UP Los Baños will keep maintaining its digital distance, my alma mater will be The One Left Behind!

Here are a few participants at the knowledge workshop and their knowledge contributions:

Paul Teng of Nanyang Technological University of Singapore:

… discussed the challenges of agricultural digitalization in AMS, including the uncertainty in business viability and scalability, limited freedom (of) farmers to operate with data across multiple data service providers due to prohibitive costs…

I note the “limited freedom (of) farmers to operate with data… due to prohibitive costs” – that is one of the major reasons why Asean must digitize agriculture for the good of Asean peoples. (That is one of the major reasons why UPLB should have digitized PH Agriculture long ago!)

Masao Matsumotoof the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan …

highlighted (his) country's strategies to promote smart agriculture, including demonstrations and dissemination, support services to farmers, enabling environment, extension services, and overseas promotions.

I note that Japan is promoting support services to farmers – what is UPLB doing as a whole for Filipino farmers?

Nerlita Manalili, Searca technical consultant, “presented the conclusions of the survey on adopting digital technologies as well as the draft guidelines.”

In the discussions, among other things, the group “noted that access to information is crucial in attracting stakeholders' action to support digital transformation in agriculture.”

While all Southeast Asia await for the knowledge sharing guidelines for Asean to be finalized, I see the sunset behind the UPLB library!@517

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[1]https://www.searca.org/news/searca-holds-2nd-knowledge-sharing-workshop-digital-technologies-agricultural-sector-asean-eria?fbclid=IwAR01TSwukka5hncUxQS6wYRkU_jzlbRUaa6RPZd6gaoTcQcIdSWMo7uzMVk