DA, PhilSA sign 5-year deal to use satellites for farms, fishing areas

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) have signed a five-year deal to use satellite technology to help monitor and protect farms and fishing areas.

“From space, a satellite can see a flood. From the ground, a farmer sees a lost harvest. Our job is to connect those two views,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

Under the agreement, the DA and PhilSA will use satellite technology to monitor crop health, map flooding and dry spells, assess irrigation infrastructure, forecast harvests and identify areas at risk of agricultural damage.

The satellite-based tools will also help monitor pest outbreaks, assess soil conditions, and identify potential areas for fishing and aquaculture.

PhilSA will be responsible for collecting, processing and analyzing satellite imagery and technical data, while the DA will collect ground-level data, validate satellite findings and integrate remote-sensing and climate tools into its agricultural policies and programs.

The DA will deploy field inspectors nationwide to verify satellite data on the ground, helping ensure that remote-sensing assessments are accurate and reliable.

“No matter how advanced our satellites become, we still need someone on the ground to confirm that what we see is, indeed, a farm,” Tiu Laurel said.— MCG, GMA News