The project Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines (SARAI) joined Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI) Harvest Festival and Field Day, held at ATI Compound, Elliptical Road, Quezon City last May 31, 2023. With the theme “ATIATihan 2023: Pistang Ani ng Bayan,” this activity organized by the DA-ATI aims to intensify the appreciation of the National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Program (NUPAP) as a new banner program of the Department of Agriculture and to promote urban agriculture as a source of healthy, safe, and nutritious food, and as additional income for the communities and basic sectors in the cities.

Project SARAi along with other invited National Government Agencies (NGAs), Government-owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and representatives from private sector installed an exhibit for the first ATI-ATIhan Marketplace and Urban AgriTech Expo to showcase different agricultural technologies, tools, and other support services related to urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Providing solutions for a more productive and proactive farming, SARAi has developed a number of systems and technologies pushing for smarter agriculture. The Project showcased five of these systems and technologies during the exhibit: Automatic Weather Station, Smarter Pest Identification Technology, Bantay SARAi, Coffee Application Harvesting Estimator (CAPHE) and the SARAi Knowledge Portal. Promotional materials such as brochures, toolkits, and videos were also used and presented in the exhibit. 

DA-ATI co-produced the Module on the use of the SPIDTECH or the Smarter Pest Identification Technology which is now being deployed across the country through DA-ATI Regional Offices and partner national government agencies.Among those who visited the AgriTech Expo are students, teachers, and backyard farmers in the area. (RMAreglado and JAMLacson)