Agro-Climatic Advisory Portal (ACAP)

ACAP is used in climate-smart agriculture, aims to help farmers reduce losses and enhance decision-making. Users includes farmers (primary beneficiaries), DA/municipal agricultural offices/ag-extension workers (act as intermediaries), and experts (analyze to improve climate adaptation strategies).

ACAP became fully operational in Bicol (Region 5, Philippines) in 2023 and expanded to Western Visayas (Region 6, Philippines) in 2024. Currently, the platform supports farmers growing rice, corn, and cassava in both regions.

Bicol Region (Region 5)

• ACAP is being tested in 14 Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative for Agriculture (AMIA) villages.
• It is expected to expand to 114 municipalities across six provinces: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon.
• The platform aims to benefit approximately 130,000 farmers and fisherfolk registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) as of 2016.

Western Visayas (Region 6)

• Currently in the pilot phase, being tested in 51 AMIA villages.
• Plans to scale up to 117 municipalities across six provinces: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.
• Expected to support around 191,000 farmers and fisherfolk registered under the RSBSA.
• Through this expansion, ACAP continues to enhance farmers' resilience by providing climate-informed agricultural support tailored to local needs.

Now being scaled out to 13 of the 17 regions in the Philippines, ACAP has significant potential to be adapted for different regions, crops, and climate conditions, as it integrates various components such as weather and climate information, crop calendars, and expert-developed crop recommendations.

ACAP's modular design, which breaks the system into smaller components, allows it to be scaled and customized for different regions, climates, and agricultural systems. This includes expanding to other crops and livestock. Additionally, ACAP has the potential to be integrated into disaster preparedness and early warning systems, as its decision logic can help identify triggers for dry spells, droughts, and floods.

Researchers and scientists can also use ACAP to analyze the skill of the weather forecast models and assess farmer response data to refine agro-advisories further. This feedback can then be used to improve meteorological predictions and provide better guidance to farmers

The 10-day weather forecast used in ACAP is web-scraped in near real-time from PAGASA , while the seasonal weather forecast is sent by PAGASA to the CIS manager in the DA Regional Field Office as a preformatted file, ready to be uploaded to ACAP’s backend. PAGASA is the country's national meteorological agency.

In 2023 under the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative, ACAP was linked via Application Programming Interface (API) to the Rice Crop Manager Advisory Service (RCMAS), a digital tool used by the Department of Agriculture to provide rice farmers with specific crop and nutrient management recommendations. This integration allows the Department of Agriculture (DA) to formulate tailored agro-advisories containing weather-adjusted nutrient and crop recommendations addressing dynamic weather conditions and potential climate-related cropping-season risks targeted to rice farmers in the Bicol region.