A P150-million  project which seeks to recommend science-based cropping systems, technologies, protocols and long-term strategies to minimize the adverse effects of changing climate and environment was launched on Nov. 27, 2013 at the Traders Hotel in Pasay City.

Dubbed  SARAI for short, it is an initiative of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).

SARAI stands for Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines. The project hopes to enhance the yield of six priority crops that include rice, corn, banana, coconut, coffee and cacao.

Project leader is Dr. Maria Victoria O. Espaldon, vice Chancellor for Research and Extension of UPLB. She said that the program is composed of five interdisciplinary projects manned by a number of UPLB scientists with expertise in the fields of agriculture, computer science, engineering and environmental science.

The stakeholders of the program include upland and lowland farmers, local government units, state universities and colleges, researchers and technical staff from partner agencies, and vulnerable communities in 14 identified sites throughout the country.

According to Dr. Espaldon, SARAI will be able to distill and translate weather and crop data into a form which would be readily useful to farmers and other stakeholders.