Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) across Leyte gathered for the Project SARAi training that equipped them with modern farming tools and knowledge to address the challenges being faced by the agriculture sector in the province. (Photocourtesy of Wil Amazona)
PALO, Leyte (PIA) — Leyte agricultural workers are being equipped to help farmers in the municipalities overcome the challenges of weather conditions with new technologies under Project SARAi or the Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines.
Through the Department of Science and Technology Region VIII (DOST-8), agricultural extension workers (AEWs) from LGUs across the province of Leyte gathered for the Project Sarai training that equipped them with modern farming tools and knowledge to address the challenges confronting the agriculture sector in the province.
SARAi assists farmers by letting them know what the weather would be like, what kind of crops they should plant for the season, what soil type they should use to improve their crops’ quality and yield, and what kinds of pests and diseases their crops are susceptible to.
Imelda Sievert, head of the Leyte Provincial Agriculturist Office, said agricultural technologies and systems introduced to the farmers will help them maximize production and increase the province’s agricultural productivity, which slowed down last year.
“Our farmers are heavily affected by the changing climate, whether it’s El Niño or La Niña,” Sievert said.
However, she noted that Leyte’s agricultural productivity had significantly improved to 9.4 percent in 2022-2023 from a -9.6 percent in 2021-2022.
Leyte province has 322,252 hectares of cropland, the largest cropland area in the region. The province’s croplands are used to grow a variety of crops, including coconut, rice, abaca, sugarcane, corn, and root crops.
Meanwhile, in his message, DOST-8 Regional Director John Glenn D. Ocaña emphasized the agricultural challenges in the region and underscored the importance of adopting Project SARAi’s smart farming technologies in Eastern Visayas. The region faces many climate-induced challenges in its agricultural productivity such as droughts, heavy rainfall, and flooding.
Project SARAi encompasses a variety of technologies such as the Automatic Weather Station (AWS), Water Assisted Irrigation Scheduling System (WAISS), Soil Profiling and Characterization, Banana Technology Application (BANATECH), Drought and Crop Assessment and Forecasting (DCAF), and SARAi Knowledge Portal.
Project SARAi was implemented by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), in collaboration with 11 state universities and colleges, and six (6) national government agencies. It was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and was monitored by DOST-PCAARRD’s Agricultural Resources Management Research Division (ARMRD). (ACR/PIA Leyte)
