Manila: The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is committing PHP600 million to implement Project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) over the next four years. This initiative aims to enhance agricultural productivity through smart farming technologies.

According to Philippines News Agency, DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. mentioned that this four-year project, which began in the latter half of 2025, is a part of the agency's broader smart agriculture initiative. Solidum emphasized the importance of applying technologies to increase farmers' profits and to advocate for the use of smart technologies. His remarks came during a visit to Southern Leyte, where he launched several projects and inaugurated the regional hub for SARAI at the DOST office in Palo, Leyte.

The DOST has established SARAI hubs across all regions to improve coordination with national government agencies, local government units, and farmer cooperatives. Solidum highlighted the necessity of these hubs to help local governments and farmers understand the significance of SARAI.

These hubs will provide farmers with data and advisories, including site-specific crop advisories, weather forecasts, and pest or disease alerts. Training sessions for farmers, local government units, and stakeholders on using smart agriculture tools, such as drones for data collection, will also be conducted.

The facility is set to adopt national SARAI technologies, such as Smarter Pest Identification Technology (SPIDTECH), Water Balance-Assisted Irrigation Scheduling System (WAISS), and Automatic Weather System (AWS). SPIDTECH offers a digital reference library on insect pests and diseases, while WAISS assists farmers in managing irrigation based on soil moisture content. AWS provides real-time weather monitoring and uses historical data for crop modeling and forecasting.

Project SARAI is an action-research initiative funded by DOST - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, aimed at reducing climate risks. It focuses on providing site-specific crop advisories to agricultural stakeholders, with priority crops including rice, corn, banana, coconut, coffee, cacao, sugarcane, soybean, and tomato.