Senior Programmer at RADA, Hartnell Campbell, speaks at a JIS Think Tank, at the agency's Head Office at 58A Half Way Tree Road in Kingston.
January 29 (JIS):
The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is reminding farmers that they can request visits from extension officers to their farms through the mobile app.
The RADA Mobile App – available for download by Android users on the Google Play Store – makes it easier for farmers to access critical farm resources and information.
Senior Programmer at RADA, Hartnell Campbell, said registered and verified farmers can log into the system to access its resources.
Currently, there are more than 250,000 registered farmers islandwide.
“This is a real-time system, which means that the information that comes from the mobile app from the farmers and extension officers is also real time. A farmer is now able to click a button and request a visit from their parish office. They can set a date, time and reason for that visit,” Mr. Campbell said.
Speaking with JIS News recently, he pointed out that farm visits could be as general as information verification or to address specific problems related to crops, soil and training.
“These are all services RADA provides, especially training information to move farmers from traditional practices to practices that are now deemed worldwide practices. That is where every farmer would want to go,” Mr. Campbell added.
If farmers are experiencing farm problems, the mobile app has a section where they can upload photos of their farms, to notify extension officers beforehand.
“At times, farmers will have problems with crop and/or livestock. When they make that request this information is filtered to their parish or they can select another parish if they have another location that may not be their primary property,” Mr. Campbell said.
Meanwhile, farmers are being encouraged to update their farming information.
The new app enables farmers to view all their personal information and farming details.
Mr. Campbell said the ratio of extension officers to farmers is 1 to 2,500, making it difficult for RADA officers to monitor and track farmer data.
“If a farmer is on the road with carrots in their vehicle and the system says cabbages, then that can cause conflict. Farmers should look at what they have on them and contact RADA if the information is not up-to-date. We are telling the farmers to contact their extension officers and tell them what needs to be updated,” he said.
Mr. Campbell reiterated that proper record keeping and data updates are critical in the fight against threats to food security, including praedial larceny.
“From time to time there can be outbreaks of pests and diseases. This is one way that RADA keeps tabs on that. This is why farm records are important and why farmers should record data from the day the field is ploughed to the day they reap,” he said.
