DOST, Bukidnon push P10-M ‘smart’ farming initiative

VALENCIA CITY, Bukidnon — To equip farmers and local officials with timely data against climate shocks, the provincial government of Bukidnon and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) rolled out an almost P10-million “smart” agricultural monitoring initiative.

Gov. Rogelio Neil Roque expressed gratitude to the agency, emphasizing that the project, launched last Monday, provides critical information for better agricultural planning and safeguards crops from climate variability.

Funded through a multi-stakeholder partnership, the project will establish automated weather stations (AWS) under Project SARAI (Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines)–CENTRO Northern Mindanao, with funding contributions of 43% from nine recipient local government units, 29% from the Provincial Local Government Unit, 17% from the Department of Science and Technology–National Monitoring and Satellite-Based Agricultural Resource Information for Agriculture (DOST-NM-SARAI), and 11% from the Department of Science and Technology–Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (DOST-CEST).

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DOST Regional Director Dr. Mark Lemuel Garcia underscored that resilience is built through institutional collaboration.

Under the initiative, local agriculture offices will adopt the community-level SARAI-Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (CL-SEAMS) to deliver real-time, site-specific crop monitoring and damage assessments.

The nine AWS units will be installed across several localities, each covering a 20-kilometer radius that can extend to neighboring areas.

These include Impasug-ong, Kitaotao, Kalilangan, Maramag, Talakag, Quezon, Kadingilan, Lantapan, and Malaybalay City. /das