With the help of an application for smartphones, tablets and computers, farmers managed to increased their harvest, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

According to the report of the DA-Mimaropa Research Division, farmers who followed the recommendations made through the Rice Crop Manager increased their yield to 4.9 tons per hectare in 2018 compared to the average yield of 3.8 tons per hectare before the RCM launch in 2013.

RCM is an Internet based app that allows extension workers to give farmers specific recommendations on nutrient, pest, weed, or water management, depending on the specific variety they used, their yield from the previous season and the site-specific conditions of their field.

It was launched by the DA in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute to improve production, increase farmer’s income and provide fast and on time professional extension service to farmers through the use information and communications technology.

According to DA-Mimaropa’s Research Division, data from 40 demo-trials for RCM conducted in 2014 in three major rice-producing provinces of the region — Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro and Palawan — the farms obtained 80 percent higher yields.