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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
TWENTIETH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

House pitt no. 1651

Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE CHEENO MIGUEL D. ALMARIO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF) sector contributes about 10% of the
Philippines yearly 10% Gross Domestic Product (GDP).! Asan essential contributor to the
economy, it is only proper that the government shall create and innovate new systems
that will help the farmers grow.

However, there are instances where farmers, despite having high quality crop
yields, would rather throwaway their crops due to oversupply. Last March 2025, tomato
farmers from Nueva Vizcaya threw away 2,000 kilograms of tomatoes at the side of the
road due meager market price of P5.00 per kilogram? The same thing was done by
cabbage farmers of Benguet who discarded their produce in a cliff in Ifugao.?

These common practice of discarding excess agriculture produce shall be
remedied by establishing an Agriculture Information System in all cities and
municipalities. By having an up-to date and an easily accessible database to all farmers,
producers can better decide when to plant and when to harvest their products. This will
prevent oversupply in the market and thus keep the prices competitive for both the
farmers and the consumers.

Hence, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

CHEENO D. ALMARIO.
tative
2 District, Davao Oriental

* httos://psa.gov.ph/statistics/national-accounts/sector/Agriculture%2C%20F orestry%20and%20Fishing.
2 Mga inaning kamatis, itinapon na lang dahil sa mababang presyo, 26 March 2025.
https://www,gmanetwork.com/news/balitambayan/umg/940640/mga-inaning-kamatis-itinapon-na-lang-

dahil-sa-mababang-presyo/story/.



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL No._1651

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE CHEENO MIGUEL D. ALMARIO

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING AN AGRICULTURE INFORMATION
SYSTEM IN ALL CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in the
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Agriculture Information System
Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the policy of the State to uplift the socioeconomic
conditions of farmers and farming communities nationwide in order to promote their
welfare and empower their sector in the overall development and progress of the
country. Pursuant to this, an integrated, computerized, web-based agricultural
commodity supply inventory and registry system linking farmers and organized
communities all over the country needs to be established to provide an easyto-access
local and global real time information for agricultural commodities, with an end view of
creating a wider range of market linkages among farmers and agricultural buyers.
Furthermore, through a synchronized agriculture information system, the National
Government shall have access to real-time agricultural information which can rationalize
the objectives and policy directives in the agricultural sector.

SEC. 3. Objectives. This Act aims to attain the following objectives:

(a) Provide an up-to-date database of agricultural and fisheries products in a locality;

(b) Foster information sharing between farmers and potential buyers of agricultural
and fisheries products;

(c) Secure a market for agricultural and fisheries products and ensure appropriate
return of investment for farmers and fisheries stakeholders;

(d) Allow local government units to manage a secure and independent platform that
creates linkages for farmers and fisheries stakeholders;


(e) Provide data on specific commodities that are readily available in a particular
locality for purposes of production monitoring in order to meet the demands of
the market;

() _ Providea secure, transparent, and independent modern web application that may
be accessed anytime by the public through a multi-platform support or cross-
platform support devices which can be linked to existing systems in the
Department of Agriculture (DA)

(g) Streamline training and seminars in the management of the operations;

(h) Monitor the use of inputs given by producers, buyers, and other segments of the
value-chain including information during post-harvest and processing; and

(i) Ensure that all forms of assistance given to local government units (LGUs),
registered cooperatives and other qualified individuals and organizations are
monitored.

SEC. 4. Agriculture Information System. All cities and municipalities are hereby
mandated to establish an Agriculture Information System (AIS). The AIS shall serve as a
dynamic online computer database where information on the demand for specific
agricultural and fisheries commodities is gathered and uploaded simultaneously with the
production data from farmers in every barangay. The AIS shall merge and synchronize
agricultural data from different sources into a cohesive database designed to facilitate
linkages from place of origin or the farm to local, and ultimately, global markets. The AIS
shall also be integrated with the existing systems of the DA. The information system shall
have the following features and contents:

(a) Municipal and city-wide identification of individual farmers, fish breeders, and
fisherfolk as well as qualified organizations which produce specific farm and
fisheries products, regardless of quantity;

(b) Crop harvest, volume, and type forecasting;

(©) __ Inventory of specific classification of crop varieties planted, livestock and type of
fish raised in a particular LGU;

(a) Farmers’ and fisherfolk demographics, including age group, gender, ethnic group,
income, seminars and trainings attended, and assistance recei

(e) Selected reports presented in both tabular and graphical form;

(Registry of farmers’ contact details and farm location to facilitate market linkages;

(g) Search engine which allows farmers, fish breeders, and fisherfolk to look for
potential and actual buyers and for such buyers to search for farms, farmers, and
available agricultural and fisheries products; and

(h) Customizable dashboard which is accessible only to registered farmers and
fisherfolk clients and contains the farmers’ and fisherfolk’s profile such as the area
of the farm or fishpond, crops planted, livestock and type of fish raised.

SEC. 5. Registration. All cities and municipalities shall encourage and facilitate the free
registration of ll farmers, fisherfolk, as well as buyers transacting within their respective
areas in the Information System

SEC. 6. Functions and Responsibilities of Cities and Municipalities. The LGU shall
exercise the following functions and responsibilities:


(a)

(b)
©

(@)
(e)

The Municipal Agriculture Office, in coordination with the Municipal Agrarian
Reform Office, shall gather, encode, and consolidate all pertinent data on the
profile and demographics of farmers, fisherfolk as well as buyers;

Monitor and control farm inputs including machineries and equipment;

For municipalities and component cities, prepare and submit real time data under
(a) and (b) to the provincial agricultural office and to the respective regional
offices of the DA;

For highly urbanized cities, submit real time data to the respective regional offices
of the DA;

Establish farmer and buyer linkages and act as a gatekeeper at the city or
municipal level in the nationwide marketing of agricultural products; and

Serve as the web administrator at the municipal or city level and be responsible
for integrating farm and fisheries locations into the geographic integration system
map.

SEC. 7. Functions and Responsibilities of the Province. The provincial government
shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

(a)

(b)

(3)

(d)

The Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) is the web administrator
at the provincial level and is responsible for integrating farm and fisheries data
into the geographic integration system maps for agriculture and fisheries;

The Local Economic and Investment Promotion Office (LEIPO) acts as the lead
administrator of the AIS in the provincial level and ensures the balance between
supply and demand;

The Provincial Agricultural Office monitors the submission of reports from
municipalities and component cities, and ensures the completeness, accuracy, and
validity of data submitted by the Municipal Agricultural Offices and the Municipal
Agrarian Reform Offices; and

Except for highly urbanized cities, prepare and submit such data to the regional
office of the DA.

SEC. 8. Functions and Responsibilities of the Regional Office of the DA. The regional
office of the DA shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

(a)

(b)

©
(d)
(e)

Integrate the data provided by the provinces and highly urbanized cities in the
existing information systems of the DA such as the National Farmers and Fisheries
Information System (NFFIS) which is a web-based data collection system that
serves as a platform for updating the Registry System for Basic Sectors in
Agriculture (RSBSA);

Collaborate with the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) in order to facilitate the availment of the various programs of the DTI as well
as strengthen market linkages through such programs;

Recommend to the central office of the DA appropriate interventions in the form
of marketing, importation, and training assistance, as may be needed;

Validate the data from the LGUs acting as the system administrator at the regional
level and provide real-time report to the central office of the DA; and

Endorse for financial assistance the qualified fifth and sixth class municipalities
that can be given assistance in establishing and maintaining their respective AIS.


SEC. 9. Functions and Responsil ies of the Central Office of the DA. The central
office of the DA shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

{a) Allocate funding for the integration of the AIS with existing information systems;

(b) Coordinate with the Department of Information and Communication Technology
(DICT) to upgrade, expand, and integrate its information systems;

(c) Ensure that the implementation, appropriate verification processes and
information safeguards are in place pursuant to existing laws and regulations, in
coordination with the DICT, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), National Privacy
Commission (NPC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and
the Department of Science and Technology (DOST);

(d) Approve the prioritized interventions by the regional offices and allocate
corresponding funding;

(€) Collaborate with other agencies for the creation of market linkages in the domestic
and international markets; and

(f) Provide safety nets in the import and export of agricultural products in order to
support farmers.

SEC. 10. Duties of the Secretary. The Secretary of the DA shall monitor and ensure the
compliance ofall cities and municipalities as provided for under this Act and shall, as soon
as practicable, establish a centralized AIS that shall integrate and link all existing
agriculture information systems in the country.

SEC. 11. Reports. The Secretary of the DA shall prepare and submit to the President and
both Houses of Congress an annual report on the implementation of the program which
shall contain information on accomplishments achieved and recommendations for
improvements thereof.

SEC. 12. Appropriations. The Secretary of Agriculture shall include in the Department's
programs the establishment of the integrated and centralized AIS, the funding of which
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. The LGUs shall provide the
necessary funds for the establishment of an AIS in their respective annual budgets.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days after the
effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate rules and regulations
for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 14. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected by such declaration shall remain in full
force and effect.

SEC. 15. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved.