The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has earmarked PHP600 million (USD 10.7 million) over four years for the nationwide implementation of Project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI), a flagship initiative under its smart agriculture program. The project, which began in the second half of 2025, aims to improve farm productivity and resilience by promoting the practical application of digital and data-driven technologies.
Speaking during the opening of the SARAI regional hub in Palo, Leyte, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. emphasized that technology adoption is central to increasing farm profitability, noting that innovation must translate into tangible gains for farmers, particularly amid climate-related production risks.
SARAI hubs have been established across all regions to strengthen coordination with national agencies, local government units and farmer cooperatives. These hubs will deliver site-specific crop advisories, weather forecasts, and pest and disease alerts, while also training stakeholders in the use of smart agriculture tools, including drone-based data collection systems.
The program localizes and deploys key technologies such as SPIDTECH (Smarter Pest Identification Technology), WAISS (Water Balance-Assisted Irrigation Scheduling System), and the Automatic Weather System (AWS), which support pest diagnostics, irrigation scheduling, and real-time weather monitoring for improved crop modelling and forecasting.
Funded by the DOST–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), SARAI prioritizes major crops including rice, corn, banana, coconut, coffee, cacao, sugarcane, soybean and tomato. Through the structured rollout of these systems, DOST aims to strengthen data-driven decision-making in agriculture and enhance sector competitiveness nationwide.
(Source: Philippine News Agency)
