KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato — The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) in collaboration with the Provincial Veterinarian (PVET), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), is working toward the establishment of the Provincial Agricultural Alert and Notification for Disease And Management (PAANDAM), an early warning and rapid response system designed to address crop pests, crop diseases, and animal health threats through science-based agricultural technologies.
PAANDAM aims to strengthen agricultural monitoring in South Cotabato by combining community-level reporting with advanced data analytics which will be technologically supported by the DOST and UPLB through Project SARAI (Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines).
According to Paula Joy G. Candido, Agriculturist I of OPAg South Cotabato, PAANDAM will utilize agricultural monitoring tools that are expected to benefit farmers, by providing early warnings that may help prevent significant losses caused by crop and animal threats.
“Sa pagcraft ng concept ng PAANDAM, yung technologies na gagamitin niya sa pag implement ay yung inintroduce ng DOST at UPLB na smart agriculture tools which is ang Project SARAI. Ito yung gagamitin for example, flood monitoring at mga production data ng iba’t ibang commodities dito sa probinsya.” Candido explained.
The proposed system will allow farmers and local agriculture partners to report possible crop, and livestock concerns at the barangay level, which will then be verified and consolidated by the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMAg) before being elevated to OPAg and other concerned agencies for appropriate action.
The project uses modern technologies such as the Smarter Pest Identification Technology (SPIDTECH), a mobile application for pest and disease identification; the Community-Level SARAI-Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (CL-SEAMS), which provides near real-time and site-specific crop monitoring and damage assessment; the SARAI Knowledge Portal; BANATECH; the Water Advisory for Irrigation Scheduling System (WAISS); and Bantay SARAI.
Through the integration of local monitoring efforts and science-based technologies, the project aims to establish a more responsive and resilient agricultural support system that will contribute to food security and sustainable farming in South Cotabato.
