Farmers in the Philippines could soon get tips on how to boost their rice production through mobile phone text messages, a research organisation said Friday. The International Rice Research Institute said it was working with the Philippines' Agriculture Department to establish a system that would provide rice farmers with specialist advice via text message.
Institutescientist Roland Buresh said once the system is set up, farmers would receive recommendations on amounts, sources and timing of applying fertiliser to ensure "profitable rice production." He said the farmers would need to answer a series of simple questions about their rice paddies before receiving the tips from the system, which the institute is aiming to set up within the year. "Information technology and the use of mobile phones offer the opportunity to bring precision agriculture to small-scale farmers," he said.
The technology could also allow farmers to find suppliers of fertilisers and financing options through their mobile phones, Buresh said. Farmers need made-to-measure advice, he said, because "crop management has no such thing as a one-practice-fits-all solution."
"Crop-management practices must be tailored to location-specific needs in order to produce more food with higher profitability and to reduce risks to the environment," he said. Buresh said similar tools for rice, wheat and maize farmers in other countries were under development.
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