THE INTEGRATED crop monitoring and forecasting system is expected to benefit the Filipino farmers.
With its projected institutionalization in the national, regional, and community levels, the much needed site-specific crop advisories will reach the targeted farmers at the right time.
Sample advisories such as planting dates, early warning for pest and disease infestation, water management strategies for specific areas, and daily weather condition notifications are significant information that will help the farmers to decide regarding the best management option suitable to their farm conditions.
To realize this, the program dubbed “Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) in the Philippines-Phase 2” will continue to develop, implement, and deploy science-based crops and cropping system technologies, protocols, and long-term strategies which are geared towards maximizing yields and minimizing adverse environmental and climate impacts.
This is the essence of the signing of an agreement which was recently held among the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and selected State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines.
The SARAI Program Phase 2 will be provided with a P221 million budget from DOST.
At the signing ceremony, PCAARRD acting executive director Reynaldo V. Ebora emphasized “value for money.”
SARAI-Phase 2 has 15 project components classified under three subprograms: 1.) Crop characterization, integrated crop management, and model development; 2.) crop-environment monitoring and forecasting; and 3.) SARAI mainstreaming.
Phase 2 will focus on the refinement, field testing, expansion, and deployment of technologies developed under Phase 1.
These technologies include: SARAI-Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (SEAMS); Water Balanced-Assisted Irrigation Decision Support System (WAISS) and Cost-efficient Soil Moisture Monitoring System for Water Deficit; SARAI knowledge portal; and other mobile and web-based applications, which include among others the Smarter Pest Identification technology and the Maize Nutrient Expert System.
Phase 2 is expected to take off from these major outputs.
It will expand its scope by covering additional crops such as sugarcane, soybean, and tomato.
The crops previously covered included rice, corn, coconut, coffee, cacao, and banana.
Phase 2 will also include capacity building and a systematic communication and information dissemination campaign to ensure that products reach the intended users.
An important highlight of Phase 2 is the implementation of SEAMS at the community level (CL-SEAMS).
CL-SEAMS will incorporate indigenous knowledge of farmers. Its capabilities and outputs will be more attuned to the specific needs of the farming communities.
DOST is expecting that Juan and Juana will really feel the impact of science and technology in their lives.
SARAI-Phase 2 will be implemented in partnership with University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD), Isabela State University (ISU), Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT), Western Philippines University (WPU), Bicol University (BU), West Visayas State University (WVSU), Cebu Technological University (CTU), Central Mindanao University (CMU), University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP), University of Southern Mindanao (USM), and Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU). (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
