The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (DA-BAFE) have harnessed space science and technology applications to boost agricultural production.
The DigitalAgri project, also known as the Farm-to-Market Road and Agricultural Commodity Geodatabase and Remote Sensing Application Phase I, is a joint initiative that established a monitoring framework using satellite technology for vital infrastructure and staple crops, specifically corn and onion.
According to PhilSA, improved monitoring of farm-to-market roads is expected to help reduce transport delays and costs for farmers, enabling faster and more efficient delivery of produce to markets.
More precise crop mapping, on the other hand, will allow government agencies to design targeted interventions that directly address the needs of local farming communities.
“By showcasing that satellite data can be translated into actionable information, the DigitalAgri Phase I project marks a milestone in helping build a better and more sustainable foundation for the country’s food security and national development through space technology,” the agency said.
Satellite images can show how healthy crops are by measuring how plants reflect light. As crops move through different stages from early development to maturity, changes in plant size, leaf coverage, and overall appearance can be observed in satellite data.
By combining different indicators from these images, researchers can track how crops grow over time.
For the crop mapping, the generated corn data will be used to fill geospatial database gaps, supporting more comprehensive studies for a more resilient, sustainable agricultural landscape.
With onion mapping, researchers enhanced mapping accuracy by developing two methodologies that integrated spectral and terrain data.
Further information can be extracted in the future, such as crop yield, growth stages, and disaster impacts.
