FARMERS working in over 150 hectares of land that are planted to cacao and coffee in Zamboanga del Sur are expected to benefit from digitized agriculture value chain in cacao and coffee production.
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary Fortunato de la Peña said this became possible through the Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) System, which was developed and funded by the agency’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD).
Through the SARAI project, the DOST Region-9 office, in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB), enabled an easier and more efficient monitoring of farmlands.
“The system can deliver accurate information on pest epidemics and crop disease outbreaks through remote sensing, as well as crop water and nutrient requirements through a multi-spectral drone,” the DOST chief added.
DOST-PCAARRD says the system uses Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing, and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for assessing and monitoring crop growth, crop health, crop loss, and extent of crop damage due to typhoons and extreme weather phenomenon like the El Niño and La Niña.
Smart agricultural information systems and technologies will aid farmers, agricultural technicians, researchers, and policy makers in dealing with climate uncertainties.
The information systems and technologies consist of: SARAI-Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (SEAMS); Cost-efficient soil moisture monitoring system for soil water deficit and Water Balance-Assisted Irrigation Support System (WAISS); SARAI Knowledge Portal and other mobile and web-based applications (Maize Nutrient Expert System; Smarter Pest Identification Technology (SPId Tech); SARAI SMS Advisories, Pestbook, real-time weather monitoring, crop monitoring and forecasting, SARAI resources, and others).
SEAMS monitors in near-real time the condition of the area planted to a crop through free and daily updated satellite images from US and Europe.
Reports from UPLB indicate other uses of SEAMS in land use changes, vulnerability assessment, identification of possible breeding grounds of major insect pests, and weather condition in areas without weather stations.
WAISS, together with the cost-efficient soil moisture monitoring systems, estimates soil moisture deficit in annual crops such as rice and corn and provides early warning for crop water stress. Soil moisture sensors were developed by UPLB. Through this system, farmers can decide when not to irrigate their farms.
SPId Tech is a mobile application that can identify agricultural pests in the farm using image scanning. Farmers and technicians can upload images of real time pest infestation. The app identifies the pest, and recommends immediate pest management control.
Maize Nutrient Experts System provides comprehensive farm fertility status. It gives information on specific nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer application. It also provides information on comparison of profits between the farmers’ practice and the recommended practice, site-specific fertilization level in any corn farm in the country, and other vital information.
Under the project, such information systems and technologies will be deployed and tested in selected offices, which are members of PCAARRD’s regional consortia, state universities and colleges, DOST regional offices, and local government units./PN
