These aim to also help them plan to reduce risks associated with changing climate conditions.
Recently, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Caraga Region has introduced local farmers to a a capacity-building training on two smart agricultural tools.
These are Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines or SARAI Mobile Applications and Automatic Weather Station (AWS) installation and maintenance.
Held in Butuan City, a total of forty-three farmers and Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) participated in the training, which aimed to enhance their capacity to use digital tools and climate information for farm management..
During the training, the participants were introduced to the Smarter Pest Identification Technology (SPIDTECH)—a mobile application that enables users to identify crop pests and diseases by capturing images directly from the field—and the Community-Level SARAI Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (CL-SEAMS), which allows farmers and AEWs to monitor farm conditions, access climate and crop advisories, and gather location-specific agricultural information that can support more informed decision-making in crop production.
The training also included discussions and demonstrations on the installation and basic maintenance of the Automatic Weather Station (AWS), which collects real-time weather data such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation that are essential in guiding farmers in planning their planting schedules, irrigation, and other farm activities.
In his opening message, DOST Caraga Regional Director Noel Ajoc emphasized the importance of bringing scientific innovations closer to farming communities.
He highlighted that through Project SARAI CeNTRO, the agency promotes the use of digital and satellite-based technologies to support climate-resilient and data-driven agriculture in the region.
Project SARAI is an action-research program funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD).
It aims to reducing climate risks by providing agricultural stakeholders with site-specific crop advisories and up-to-date and real-time farm condition information accessible through various hubs, resource centers, and digital applications.