Bicolana bags prestigious award

CEBU, Philippines —  A 37-year-old Bicolana became the first Filipino recipient of the ASEAN-US Science Prize for Women for her research on agriculture precision.

Dr. Gay Jane Perez of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology at the University of the Philippines – Diliman pitched her research of using satellite data to help predict drought.

The application may include issuing an advisory system to farmers on what to plant and if there is a need to harvest earlier.

“The advisory system aims to guide farmers where to plant and when to plant,” she said. 

It may also aid in the assessment of crop damage and making crop vulnerability maps.

At present, the research is still in its “evaluation stage.”  This includes the validation if the ground data matches with the predictions made with the use of the satellite data.

The said innovation has pilot areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Cebu Technological University and the Western Visayas University are the two pilot areas in the Visayas.

Perez has a background on Applied Physics. She was inspired to delve into research using meteorogical data after she was able to study at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through a scholarship in 2010, when the Philippines was experiencing El Niño.

“I was in the US, but I was looking at the Philippines,” she said.

She said there were a lot of satellite data which she found useful to possibly predict El Niño and eventually be beneficial to farmers.  The Filipino scientist hopes to expand her research so it may cover the whole country up to the barangay level.

“I will not stop until nagaganap na at nakakatulong (ang research ko),” she said.

She further urged other women to push through research to help the country.

“We don't have much funds but we can do top-notch research,” she said.

Her prize of $20,000 or around P1 million was handed over to her in an ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Cebu last Friday. It was provided by the US government and its private partner, Underwriters Laboratories.

She said she has no specific plans on how to spend it. However, a portion of it will surely be used to advance her research especially in procuring more advanced and high-speed computers.

Perez bested seven other researchers across Southeast Asia which also submitted their papers in line with the theme “precision agriculture”.

Ryan Washburn of the US government said that one of the reasons why Perez won is because of the applicability of her study in real life.

He remarked that her research was “groundbreaking.”

Last year's winner was from Vietnam who pitched a study about urban healthcare. The 2017 winner, Washburn said, is currently developing a gel which can heal an incision wound faster.

Washburn announced that the theme for the ASEAN-US Science Prize for 2019 is "circular economy". — GAN (FREEMAN)