Thirty-five participants were trained by Project SARAI in using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing.

Project SARAI or Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines conducted the “Training on the Use of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing for SARAI-Enhanced Agricultural Monitoring System (SEAMS)” at the Obdulia F. Sison Hall, University of the Philippines Los Baños on October 21 -25, 2019

The participants were representatives from Local and Provincial Government Units, State Universities and Colleges, and other institutions such as LANDBANK, Philippine Statistics Authority, and Bureau of Plant Industry. 

Serving as trainers for the 5-day training were GIS experts from the College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology headed by Professor Moises A. Dorado. 

The activity is a first in a three- part SEAMS training ranging from basic to advanced topics. SEAMS is a technology developed by Project SARAI which can monitor the condition of areas planted to crops on a near real-time and site-specific basis. The technology creates maps showing various information such as crop growth/health, damage estimates, farm areas, among others. SEAMS uses GIS and remote sensing to create these maps. The system is particularly beneficial for efficient and faster monitoring of large areas.

At the end of the three-part training, the participants are expected to produce maps for their own municipalities/localities by using SEAMS. Likewise, they are expected to incorporate their acquired skills on their research and extension work. 

The training was organized by the Knowledge and Capacity Building component of Project SARAI.Project SARAI is a three-year program funded by DOST-PCAARRD which aims to develop, and deploy  science-based cropping systems, technologies, and long term strategies for maximizing crop yield and minimizing the adverse effects of environmental and climate impacts on the SARAI nine priority crops namely: rice, corn, banana, coconut, coffee, cacao, sugarcane, soybean, and tomato.