The Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines or SARAi has been launched in Tuguegarao City.
In partnership with the local government unit (LGU) of Tuguegarao City, the DOST-II launched the project which aims for smarter agriculture.
“The project launch is one of DOST II and Tuguegarao’s initiatives in building Smart Ibanag City,” DOST Secretary Fortunato “Boy” T. de la Peña said during his weekly report on Friday, Oct. 8.
He noted that smarter agriculture is an area that Ibanag City, an agricultural dependent city, would want to engage in considering its agricultural landscape.
“Project SARAi aims to help the city’s agricultural sector in adapting to smart technologies by educating the local farmers through trainings and webinars under SARAi Eskwela program,” he said.
He said the project aims to help the city in crafting crop advisories that are targeted for major crops in Tuguegarao. These include rice, corn, and banana.
The project was developed by researchers at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, in partnership with DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).
The DOST-PCAARRD said SARAi has 15 project components classified under three subprograms: Crop characterization, integrated crop management, and model development; Crop-environment monitoring and forecasting; and SARAI mainstreaming and knowledge management.
The Council said SARAi technologies and products that are already protected by Intellectual Property Rights include water balance-assisted irrigation decision-support system (WAISS), Smarter Pest and Disease Identification Technology (SPIDTECH), Coffee Application Harvest Estimator (CAPHE), SARAi Alerts and Advisories, Training Toolkit for Corn, Training Toolkit for Rice, and SARAi-enhanced agricultural monitoring system (SEAMS) Training Toolkit.
(This article, written by Charissa Luci-Atienza, was first published in the Manila Bulletin Website on October 10, 2021)