ABOUT

PROBLEM
Full implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund and of the RCEF-Seed Program by the Philippine Rice Research Institute was scheduled to begin by December 2019. However, the declaration of a State of Public Health Emergency on March 2020 hindered PhilRice from proceeding with its planned awareness campaigns for the RCEF-Seed Program.

Communication Opportunity: The setbacks made by COVID-19 restrictions present PhilRice with the opportunity to embrace digital means communications, especially social media. This is also an opportunity to spark a change in the communication preference of rice farmers who are more receptive towards getting farming information from their fellow farmers than through digital channels like social media.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Goal: The goal of the RCEF Seed Program Social Media Campaign for 2021 is to prove that social media is an effective communications tool to inform rice farmers and other stakeholders about the benefits of the RCEF-Seed Program, how to become a program beneficiary, and the advantages of being part of a farmers’ association or cooperative.

Objective 1: Turn the RCEF Seed Program Facebook Page into a credible source of information for rice farmers and other stakeholders.
- Grow the number of followers/fans of the Facebook page to 20,000 people at the end of the campaign period.
- Produce 24 social media content composed of educational and engaging pieces of information that address the kind of social media content rice farmers want to see.
- Reach a total of 1,000,000 people within the campaign period of June 2021 to November 2021
- Obtain 100,000 combined engagements in contents published within the campaign period of June 201 to November 2021.

Objective 2: Turn the RCEF Seed Program Facebook Page into an effective source of information for rice farmers and other stakeholders.
- Conduct a survey among current and potential beneficiaries of the RCEF-Seed Program, who have seen at least 1 Facebook content from the official RCEF Seed Program page.
- Obtain 200 respondents in the online survey, divided among the 42 provinces covered by the program across the Philippines.
- 80% of those surveyed are fully aware of the RCEF-Seed Program and the process to avail it.
- 90% of those surveyed are satisfied with the RCEF seed distribution carried out by PhilRice.
- 80% of those surveyed are aware of the benefit of using certified inbred seeds.
- 50% of those surveyed appreciate the importance of joining an association or cooperative of rice farmers, or of engaging in group marketing.

Note: A survey size calculator was used to determine that a sample size of 200 would provide 95% confidence level, with a 4% margin of error. This is based 2019 Philippine Statistics Authority data that there are 9.7 million Filipinos employed in the agriculture sector versus total Philippine population of 110.4 million (8.79% population proportion).

SOLUTION
Strategy: Since the existing rice farmer profile of PhilRice was not updated since 2012, we begin the campaign development by conducting a survey to know the level of awareness rice farmers have about the RCEF-Seed Program and the way they prefer to seek, receive, and consume information. From there, results were used to develop a communications plan
composed of monthly themes and topics for social media posts, a media plan composed of the type of ads that will be used, and an engagement plan to ensure rice farmers and other key stakeholders continue to give feedback about the program’s rollout.

Creative approach: Because most of rice farmers’ time is spent on the field, social media content were made to be concise, ensured to be exactly what they require, and are easily digestible. This is made possible by using a combination of real images and vector images for infographics. Social media promos were also used to reward rice farmers and other
stakeholders for the information and engagements they relay through the official social media page.

Key project components:
- Conduct of pre-campaign survey.
- Execution of social media communications strategy and placement of social media ads.
- Execution of social media contests and promos.
- Conduct of post-campaign survey.
- Development of project completion report and sustainability plan.

Key project messaging:
1. Information about RCEF-Seed Program is readily available in the Facebook page
- Information about what the RCEF-Seed Program is part of regular Facebook content.
- Steps on how to become a beneficiary are highlighted from time to time.
- User generated content showing the current status of farms that are part of the RCEF-Seed Program are occasionally featured.
2. It is more beneficial to use certified inbred seed in rice farms and paddies.
- Content comparing how much more rice can be harvested from paddies that use certified inbred seeds versus other type of rice seeds are part of regular Facebook content.
- Ways to identify whether a bag of rice seeds are certified inbred seeds are made into bite-sized infographics.
3. Rice farmers get the most out of government grants and benefits when they are part of farmers’ associations or cooperatives.
- Highlight testimonials from farmers that are part of cooperatives.
- Showcase the incentives farmers can get when they are members of farmers’ associations.

PERFORMANCE
RCEF Seed Program Social Media Campaign for 2021 was the perfect vehicle for meeting these project objectives. It leverages the openness of rice farmers towards receiving vital information through social media, and the pre-campaign survey done ensures that social content that would be published in the official Facebook page remain to be what is needed
by rice farmers (to avoid wasting their time and ensure continues engagement with them and other key stakeholders).

Objective 1: Turn the RCEF Seed Program Facebook Page into a credible source of information for rice farmers and other stakeholders.
- Grew the number of followers/fans of the Facebook page to 41,569 people (vs target of 20,000 people at the end of the campaign period).
- Produced 24 social media content (meeting the target of 24 contents composed of educational and engaging pieces of information that address the kind of social media content rice farmers want to see).
- Reached a total of 4,907,000+ people (vs target of 1,000,000 people within the campaign period of June 2021 to November 2021).
- Obtained 576,000+ engagements (vs target of 100,000 combined engagements in contents published within the campaign period of June 201 to November 2021).

Objective 2: Turn the RCEF Seed Program Facebook Page into an effective source of information for rice farmers and other stakeholders.
- Surveyed a total of 484 respondents: 470 are farmers, 14 are other stakeholders | 69% are current beneficiaries of the RCEF-Seed Program
- Survey results are deemed accurately to within 2.52%, 19 times out of 20
- 90% of respondents are fully aware of the RCEF-Seed Program and the process to avail it 83% say they know what the RCEF-Seed Program is
96% say they know that they can personally, or through an authorized representative, claim free seeds provided by the RCEF-Seed Program
90% say they know that the seeds being distributed by the RCEF-Seed Program are free certified inbred seeds
87% say they have seen information about the RCEF Seed Program from its official Facebook page
94% say that information featured in the official Facebook page are helpful
- 87% of respondents are satisfied with how RCEF-Seed seeds have been distributed in their area
99% say they want to keep receiving seeds from RCEF-Seed Program
81% say the distribution of seeds in their area went well
80% say they are happy with the process of seed distribution in their area
- 92% of respondents are aware of the benefit of using certified inbred seeds
91% say they know that the blue tag in the seed’s bag is proof that the seeds received were certified inbred seeds
90% say they know that using certified inbred seeds results in growing higher quality of rice plants
96% say they believe that using certified inbred seeds help increase rice yield by not less than 10%
- 83% of respondents say they appreciate the importance of joining an association or cooperative of rice farmers, or engage in group marketing
66% say they are members of farmers’ association or cooperative
86% say they know that being a member of a cooperative enables them to receive grants from the government
97% say they will encourage other farmers to join farmers’ associations or cooperative