PhilSA, DA to conduct joint research on corn, onion using satellite data
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Space Agency and the Department of Agriculture will conduct a joint research to monitor corn and onion crops and farm-to-market roads in the country using satellite data.
PhilSA’s Space Information Infrastructure Bureau and DA’s Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering will look at the farming of corn in Pampanga or Isabela, onion farming in Nueva Ecija, and the utilization of farm-to-market roads in Pampanga or Nueva Ecija.
The study aims to generate geodatabases on corn and onion crops.
The collaborative research, set to start this year, seeks to help the government, non-government organizations, and farmers to make informed decisions on securing the country’s food production.
“Geolocation will enable more comprehensive analyses of crops on a larger scale by integrating it with other Earth observation data. This will provide, at the minimum, delineation and area statistics of these crops,” said Arlo Jayson Sabuito, Science Research Specialist II of PhilSA Space Data Mobilization and Applications Division.
“More complex research, meanwhile, can produce information like cropping calendars, yield estimation, and damage assessments due to disasters such as drought and typhoons,” he added.
According to the agriculture department, corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines. Around 14 million Filipinos prefer white corn as their main staple, while yellow corn accounts for about 50% of livestock mixed feeds.
Onion is a mainstay in nearly all Philippine dishes and an important agricultural crop in Central Luzon. Early this year, the cost of onions reached as much as P800 a kilo, making them more expensive than meat. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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