WEATHER Philippines Foundation (WPF) said over the weekend it is planning to make use of the weather and climate data it collects for the benefit of the country’s agriculture sector.
WPF, Aboitiz Group’s largest corporate social responsibility initiative, said it is eyeing to venture into the use of weather information for agriculture and tourism.
“As we gather more data and notice certain [weather and climate] trends, which can be correlated to agricultural trends, [we can help farmers decide] which crops to plant,” WPF Sustainability Specialist Margarette Lim said in a presentation during the 2016 Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines Business Journalism Seminar.
WPF said it is currently gathering historical weather and climate data to determine trends, which could be applied to the farm sector.
“For agriculture, we probably need at least five years’ worth of data for us to notice certain trends. We’d like to partner with certain industries or institutions with which we can share these information,” Lim said.
She added that WPF is considering the use of short message service (SMS) to distribute weather information to farmers.
The foundation uses multiple channels—a web site, social-media accounts, and a mobile application—to share weather information. Lim said various companies also use WPF’s data for their operations, planning and businesscontinuity.
Experts say timely and crucial climate weather information can help farmers make better decisions on their farming practices.
It can also help policy-makers to act immediately in times of calamities and implement the necessary adjustments and improvements in the country’s food security plans, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
PhilRice is also urging policy-makers to support research and development on the use of information technology for agriculture, such as the PRISM, the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) rice information system. It is a collaborative project between the DA, PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute.
On its web site, WPF said it aims to deliver “critical and accurate weather forecasts to the Filipino community, with the hope of improving nationwide disaster preparedness, and timely response to variable weather conditions.”
By bringing together the Aboitiz Group’s resources and network, and MeteoGroup’s technical expertise, WPF said it is aiming to be the country’s premiere private weather information/content provider.
WPF plans to have roughly 1,000 automated weather station/devices installed across the Philippines.