The Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OPAPA): Enhancing Extension Services to the Farmers of Northern Philippines through Information and Communication Technologies(ICT)

This paper presents a study on various ICT modes tested by the Open Academy for Philippines Agriculture (OPAPA) in Northern Philippines in bringing timely information to the farmers. There were five ICT intervention employed as follows: 1. Farmers Internet; 2. Farmers Text Center; 3. Mobile Internet Cab; 4. e-content and; 5. ICT trainings. Extension workers and farmers are given access to the internet to be able to solve the problems in the field. Farmers also get information and consult experts thru the farmers text center. The mobile internet cab is used to build awareness on ICT and train farmers on basic computer operation in the villages. Building up localized e-content is the key factor for ICT applications in agriculture since these are the information eventually disseminated to farmers and extension workers. The above interventions were piloted through a network called Isabela cyber community composing of a farmers group, a local government unit (LGU), the Philippine Rice Research Institute and Isabela State University as knowledge centers. The ICT extension delivery modes introduced and tested were found effective and practical and now gaining popularity not only in the pilot site but nationwide. As a result more farmers are benefiting on these ICT services.