Cloud computing to help the rice sector in the Philippines

The agriculture and science community in the Philippines will be launching the Asi@Connect-funded RICESTATS DATABASE: Leveraging the Cloud for Rice Statistics and Analytics on November 29, 2019 at the Dusit Thani Hotel Makati.

The project, which is led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), intends to create a reference database by using an ontology to combine data into a one-stop accessible database with a displayable dashboard for rice statistics. The platform runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) services such as AWS Glue, Athena, and S3 for data extraction, transformation and loading while the transformed data is stored in the AWS cloud warehouse Redshift. The database will contain data from existing household surveys conducted by IRRI globally and it will include data from national bureaus and international organizations. Such a database does not exist for rice.

“RICESTATS DATABASE will enable the dissemination of comprehensive rice socio-economic data through an easily accessible database interface on a wider scale. The project will provide a unique resource for agricultural and social science researchers, academia, policy makers, donors, and investors in the rice sector and beyond,” IRRI Representative for the Philippines Dr. Romeo Recide said.

Together with IRRI, the Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) and AWS are the cooperating organizations for the project.

IRRI Agri-Food Policy Platform Leader Dr. Jean Balie says of this project initiative, “IRRI believes that the Asi@Connect project can help fulfill a number of Sustainable Development Goals through improved access to education and research resources across the Asia-Pacific.”

Asi@Connect empowers Asian countries by enabling them to participate in collaborative programs like RICESTATS DATABASE. They also bridge the digital divide that exists within the global communities of research, education, and health.

DOST-ASTI Director, Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano, Jr. emphasizes the importance of this collaboration with IRRI and DOST-ASTI’s long-standing partnership, “The DOST-ASTI and IRRI, over the years, have established a good working relationship through our partnership in the areas of research networking, high performance computing and cloud computing. IRRI is connected to the Philippine Research, Education and Government Information Network (PREGINET), which is being managed by the DOST-ASTI.” PREGINET is the Philippines’ only National Research and Education Network that is connected to a global REN, of which Asia@Connect is the Asia-Europe connection.

The launch is expected to be attended by partners from agriculture and science organizations, officials from national government agencies, and members of the academe in the Philippines.

About Asi@Connect

Asi@Connect marks the 4th phase of EU funding to the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN) programme which was launched as an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) initiative in 2000; it successfully established a regional research and education internet network from scratch in 2004 and progressively expanded its geographical footprint over the years. During this new phase, greater emphasis will be placed on delivering the project with increased involvement of additional partners within the Asia-Pacific R&E community.

Asi@Connect takes over the R&E backbone from TEIN4, the most recent phase in the TEIN initiative and will continue to connect regional researchers with their counterparts in Europe via GÉANT, the world’s most advanced international research and education network, providing the Asia-Pacific countries with a gateway for global research collaboration. Asi@Connect receives €20 million funding from the EU for 5 years with additional financial contributions from the Asian partners. GÉANT transferred responsibility for the TEIN programme to TEIN*CC in 2012 and has since provided consultancy advice. This advisory role will continue during Asi@Connect. To find out more visit www.tein.asia

The Asi@Connect partners are the National Research & Education Network associations (NRENs) of Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Vietnam.