The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is stepping up its campaign to introduce the Project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) in Eastern Visayas to help increase the yield of the region’s farm products.

DOST Eastern Visayas regional director John Glenn Ocaña said in an interview on Friday the project received PHP32 million funding support in four years, starting in 2024, across six provinces. The initiative is considered the fastest way to digitalize agriculture.

“We aim to introduce the technology in all provinces since agriculture is a major industry. The technology will equip participants with modern farming tools and knowledge to address the challenges being faced by the agriculture sector in the province,” Ocaña told the Philippine News Agency.

Project SARAI is an action-research program, funded by the DOST–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, working towards reducing climate risks by providing agricultural stakeholders with site-specific crop advisories.

The project seeks to establish community-level SARAI hubs where farmers can easily get up-to-date information and report initial farm conditions.

“Project SARAI aims to craft crop advisories that are targeted for rice, corn, banana, coconut, coffee, cacao, sugarcane, soybean, and tomato. The crop advisories focus on integrating local weather data and drought forecasts with farm management activities, specifically nutrient and water management and proactive pest and disease monitoring,” Ocaña added.

Developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños, the project introduces more smart technologies in local communities, featuring systems that analyze sensor data on temperature, rainfall, fertilizer application, and other agricultural parameters.

Currently, the project has only two adaptors — the Leyte provincial government and the municipal government of Bobon, Northern Samar. (PNA)