Throughout the roll-out of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the Applied Geotagging Technology has been one of the widely promoted tools for transparency and efficient monitoring. With its continuous development, the innovation has widened its reach not only among DA and PRDP offices but also with local government offices, contractors and national agencies.

The system has also been previously recognized by the World Bank as a critical tool in the promotion of transparency and anti-corruption, naming the Philippines as the leading nation in utilizing AGT.

Recently, key personnel from the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF)’s Lao Agriculture Competitiveness Project (LACP) visited the country for a learning exchange on the use of AGT. Led by the Director General of the Department of Policy and Legal Affairs Thiphavong Ounla, the LAO delegates deemed the innovation as a useful tool to visualize the geographic localization of physical activities implemented across the target areas of the LAO project.

Through site visits and comprehensive lectures led by NPCO GGU Alternate Head Joseph Pacon, Lao delegates were able to practice the application and appreciate its importance in the course of PRDP’s implementation.

In his message, Ounla expressed his gratitude to the PRDP team for the successful four-day learning exchange.

“Geotagging is highly applicable to our current operational projects in Lao. We are very happy about this for it will be very useful for our country,” said Ounla.

He added, “This AGT can be applied to both our foreign funded and locally funded projects. We are ready to cooperate with your country further to improve our plans.”

The Director General likewise recognized the process of PRDP and how the projects are based on the priority needs of the farmers.

In support to LACP and its aim to shift to an improved monitoring system through AGT, a LACP-customed geotagging camera application was developed by Leomark Baldoz of DA-RFO1 and was presented to the delegates. The application displays the same geographical information as the PRDP camera and features the logo of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR).

Baldoz is also the lead developer of the Geovideo and the Geodata Organizer along with RPCO1 GGU Head Deo Rivera. The said applications are among the upgraded features of geotagging that aide geotaggers in maintaining archives of uploaded files while improving the accuracy of data. Through these, implementers are provided with better, more organized and more accurate real-time monitoring experiences.

AGT was first developed and applied by the DA’s Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) in 2011. Through the success of the innovation, the department has then mandated the use of geotagging to all projects and programs under DA.

PRDP has also been continuously conducting training and lectures to local government units, civil society organizations and contractors to promote their involvement in the implementation of the project. (Kayla Arceo, North Luzon InfoACE)