Ang sarap sa feeling when you can actually use the power of Software Development to empower a community, especially the Agriculture sector.
Share ko lang, whenΒ we visited Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan, Iβve heard cases of onion farmers commiting suicide due to bankruptcy caused by pest infestation (Onion Armyworm) from the farmers themselves.
Last year, there was this farmer in Bukidnon who consulted our team regarding his rotting coconut trees. Our entomologist diagnosed that his trees were infested by brontispa (insect). When we recommended a natural predator, earwig (insect), nagulat si farmer kasi akala nya this particular insect was the one infesting his trees. Not knowing that this insect is actually a natural predator of the enemy, he started to kill the population.
After visiting different sites in the country, Iβve seen firsthand the gap of information from our books to our farmers in the ground. Weβve consulted our farmers and hear their problems to come up with a set of specifications in designing the app that weβve been developing for the past months.
Iβm just so happy witnessing how it progress from hand-drawn wireframes to conducting workshops with farmer groups on how to actually use it in the field.
Letβs indulge ourselves in helping our community in our own ways.
PARA SA BAYAN!
Regarding the app: We are developing an app to help our farmers identify (digital identification using artificial intelligence), manage, report, and monitor insect pests and diseases in farms. We compiled information gathered through consulting our expert entomologist and plant pathologist from the National Crop Protection Center to equip our farmers with necessary knowledge in knowing the enemy, and most importantly in manage them, minimizing crop protection malpractice and mismanagement. Our app aims to help in sharing awareness to farmers and assisting our experts to remotely monitor pest and disease status and early markers of outbreaks.
