January 11, 2021 – The Department of Science and Technology – National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL), conducted virtual Forum via zoom Webinar entitled “Digital Transformation and Digital Ecosystems”

President Rhodora V. Azanza of NAST PHL Academician (Acd.) officially opened the forum. All of the six panelists are members of Engineering Science and Technology Division.

Started with resource speaker are Acd. William T. Torres. Academician Torres is the father of the Philippine Internet. He proposed as early in 1992 that we have to be connecting to the Internet. His topic about is on Digital Ecosystems.

According to him the Digital Transformation ( DX) is a process where digital technologies create disruptions triggering strategies responses from various organizational that seek to alter their value creation paths while managing the structural changes and organizational barriers that affect the positive and negative outcomes of this process. Including the four layers of Digital Ecosystems are business ecosystem, digital ecosystem services and application, digital ecosystems common infrastructure and network services.

Followed by Acd. Benito M. Pacheco on how do we citizens on PH cities and towns form Digital Ecosystems with our shelter and transportations?

Being in an Archipelagic nation talking points about water is Acd. Guillermo Q. Tabios III, Real Time flood forecasting and reservoir operations and Subic Bay hydrodynamic water – quality decision support system for Integrated coastal management plan and strategies are cited examples.

Meanwhile, Acd Alvin B. Culaba explained about Energy as lifeblood of economy. Indispensable to National Economic Development. Driver towards global competitiveness from  residential, commercial, transportation, industrial and agricultural as instrumental for poverty reduction, social equality and improved quality of life. Moving from traditional to a digital energy future.

Moreover, Acd. Aura M. Matias on Manufacturing and Industry. Especially now smart manufacturing investments can help address covid-19  challenges. She added that Asia- Pacific leading the way to digitalization.

Futhermore, Acd. Raymond Girard R. Tan stated on  Education that the key challenge are how much has covid-19 widened the digital divide, how well are navigating the mind machine interface and what will be the post pandemic education landscape look like?

The glimpse of the future: Digital Transformation ( DX) and Digital Ecosystems is quite challenging. In term of highly competitive across the globe. Not only in science, education, technology but also economically if we develop fully and freely the connectivity platforms maybe like South Korea highest internet speed in the world. Still a huge margin on how many to invest in Digital Philippines as a digital nation. 

MJ OLVINA-BALAGUER of DZMJ Online, Makabuluhang Jornalismo your hapiness channel. +639053611058 maryjaneolvina@gmail.com

Furrow and drip irrigation system effective in sugarcane production

Irrigation continues to be an important aspect in crop production. However, the unstable water supply for agriculture calls for an efficient use of irrigation water, among other measures. Achieving sustainable food production amidst concern for water availability in agriculture, remains to be a challenge.

This challenge in sugarcane production has been addressed by a project of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) titled, “Comparative study of subsurface drip and furrow irrigation systems for improving sugarcane yield and water productivity.” The project aims to increase sugarcane yield by 30% through the use of smart irrigation technologies. It is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) through its Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) on Sugarcane.

Results of the study was presented during the Terminal Review of the program, “Boosting the sugarcane industry through smart farming and processing techniques,” organized by the Agricultural Resources Management Research Division (ARMRD) of PCAARRD.

According to the study, furrow irrigation performed better in sugarcane production. It is a type of surface irrigation system wherein ridges and furrows are created in between rows of the crops. These ridges and furrows allow water to flow evenly to the crops through gravity.

Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) also showed potential in increasing sugarcane yield. SDI uses drip tubes or drip tape buried under the soil to supply water to the crop. Water is directly supplied to the crop’s roots  and not the soil surface.

In a survey prior to the conduct of the study, sugarcane yield was higher at 80.6 tons cane per hectare (TC/ha) with irrigation compared with 62.5 TC/ha without irrigation. Furrow irrigation is commonly used in irrigated farms. The project studied furrow and SDI as well as farmer’s practice. Estimated sugar produced from the crop was 338 bags through furrow irrigation, 295 bags under SDI, and 130 bags through farmer’s practice. From ratoon crop, the number of bags produced were 236, 182, and 65 for furrow irrigation, SDI, and farmer’s practice, respectively.

Average crop height at 12 months after planting (MAP) was highest in furrow irrigation at 388 cm, followed by SDI at 330 cm, and control at 225 cm. In terms of average yield for the period of one year, 199.25 TC/ha was recorded under furrow irrigation, followed by 273.03 TC/ha under SDI, and 130.26 TC/ha under farmer’s practice. Water savings of crop produced from both furrow irrigation and SDI was at 61.78%, while 40.99% water savings was recorded from ratoon crop production.

According to the project team led by Dr. Armando N. Espino, Jr. of CLSU, furrow irrigation is recommended when water is readily accessible and labor is cheap. Meanwhile, SDI can be recommended where water is limited (Rose Anne M. Aya, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services).

Smart farming program raised sugarcane yield, reduced fertilizer use

 A research and development program that aimed to boost the sugarcane industry in the country resulted in 24% increase in average yield (tons cane per hectare [TC/ha]) of sugarcane and reduced fertilizer use by 15% to 25%. This was the highlight of the accomplishments of the program, “Boosting the sugarcane industry through smart farming techniques.”

The program, which has five project components is led by Dr. Armando N. Espino, Jr. of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU). It is monitored and funded by the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD) through its Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) on Sugarcane.

Other agencies that implemented the component projects were: Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PNRI); University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC), and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization of the Department of Agriculture (DA-PHilMech).

According to Dr. Espino, the 24% increase in average yield was realized through the use of S&T interventions such as: use of varieties with high sucrose content and resistance to smut and downy mildew; improved nutrient and water management strategies, and mechanization of harvesting operations.

Summary results

Project 1, “Smart Water Management Strategies for Sugarcane,” implemented by CLSU found an increase in sugarcane yield by 30% by adopting soil moisture and weather-based irrigation scheduling system; fertigation system; subsurface drip lateral installer; soil moisture monitoring device; and best water management schemes for drip and furrow irrigation methods.

Project 2, “Smart Farming-Based Efficient Nutrient Management to Increase Sugarcane Productivity through Elemental Tracer and Related Techniques,” implemented by DOST-PNRI increased nutrient use efficiency by 20%, reduced fertilizer use by at least 15%, and reduced loss of soil nutrients by 15%. This was achieved through precise fertilizer recommendation for different soil fertility levels; utilization of best time and method of fertilizer application; and use of efficient variety x N-fixing endophytic bacteria combination.

Project 3, “Development of Nanofertilizers for Sugarcane Production,” implemented by UPLB resulted in reduced fertilizer use by at least 25% through the development of a nanofertilizer (N, P, K, and NPK) and optimized method and rate of nanofertilizer application.

Project 4, “Design and Development of Sugarcane Harvesting Equipment for Small-scale Sugarcane Farm,” implemented by DOST-MIRDC led to the reduction in labor requirement from 120 man-day per hectare (md/ha) to 36 md/ha and reduced equipment cost by 20% for small-scale farms. This was made possible through the development of harvesting equipment including cutter, leaf stripper, and loader for small farms that cover 1 to 5 hectares (ha).

Harvesting equipment was also developed for medium-scale farms by DA-PHilMech. This was achieved through Project 5, “Design and development of harvester for medium-scale sugarcane farm.”

The development of a combine harvester capable of harvesting 5 ton-cane per hour (TC/hour) reduced labor requirement from 120 md/ha to 8 md/ha. The cost of the developed harvester is 25% cheaper than what is available in the market (Rose Anne M. Aya, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services).