Agri office to open 'Matuwid na Daan'

THE Department of Agriculture (DA)-Information Technology Center for Agriculture and Fisheries (ITCAF) introduced to the DA-Eastern Visayas management the "Matuwid na Daan" project slated to start on July 5.

The "Matuwid na Daan," also called the Department of Agriculture Accountability Network, is a web portal that provides readily accessible information on DA's performance and accomplishments.

Virtually, it will give face to DA's advocacy on adhering to accountability and transparency in pursuing food security while promoting public awareness of its community-focused projects and activities nationwide.

It will feature a running account of all DA projects vis-à-vis their fund allocation and cumulative disbursements, completion period, percentage of accomplishment and other relevant data, including regularly updated photos, to enable the public to track down and evaluate the proper use of agency resources.

DA-ATCAF Director Gary Glenn Fantastico said the website "will empower the DA constituents and the rest of the nation to contribute to the effective and efficient implementation of agriculture-related projects in their respective localities by reporting their actual status, validating receipt of government assistance or otherwise, sharing knowledge and skills, introducing best practices, or simply becoming aware and making full use of the government's services for community-based agricultural development."

Director Wilson Cerbito, DA-Eastern Visayas's regional technical director for research and regulations, commended the DA-ITCAF for coming up with the project, which provided an opportunity for the agency to show its outputs on the Inventory System on Agriculture and Fishery Investments (ISAFI) Project.

Cerbito said the ISAFI project was already implemented in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran and Eastern Samar, and will be implemented to the two remaining provinces of Samar and Northern Samar by July, this year.

"We are very fortunate because in the whole country, Eastern Visayas is the only region where ISAFI will be implemented in all provinces," he said. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)