The project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) in the Philippines Phase 2 presented and exhibited their technologies to the Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute in the event entitled SARAI and DA-ATI: Partnership in Reaching the Grounds, held last June 4, 2019 at the Rural Development Education Center ATI Compound in Diliman, Quezon City. The activity aimed to orient the DA-ATI about project SARAI and establish a partnership on how DA-ATI can make use of SARAI services and technologies in their training and extension works. Project SARAI also brought their flagship technologies, systems, and output including SARAI-Enhanced Agriculture Monitoring System (SEAMS), Water Advisory for Irrigation Scheduling System (WAISS), Drought and Crop Assessment Forecast (DCAF), Automatic Weather Station (AWS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (AUV), SARAI Pest Identification Technology (SPIDTECH), SARAI Knowledge Portal, and Capacity and Knowledge Building.
One component of Project SARAI is the Insect Pest and Disease Advisory System (IPDAS) headed by NCPCs Plant Biosecurity Division Head and Deputy Director, Mr. Melvin D. Ebuenga, who presented the objectives and deliverables of the project to DA-ATI staff. During the open forum, Mr. Ebuenga asked help from DA-ATI in the implementation of the pest and disease monitoring through the IPDAS project. One output of the project is the SPIDTECH application, developed by Mr. Angelo Guiam who also presented and exhibited the application to the participants. Mr. Ebuenga and Mr. Guiam also had a media interview with MagsasakaTV as part of the mainstreaming activities of the project. (infos from MD Ebuenga, AC Guiam)
