Metro Manila, Philippines. Packetworx, the only technology social enterprise and leading provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in the Philippines partnered with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) to create IoT solutions for the agriculture industry in the Philippines.
The Philippines, being an agricultural country, often experiences damages on its crops and the farmers’ livelihood due to vagaries of weather. A common problem in high altitude farming locations is the frost build-up that damages crops. Packetworx is now working with PAGASA to address this issue. The two organizations explore IoT applications for the country’s agriculture sector.
Packetworx installed temperature and soil moisture sensors in select locations in the Philippines. This enables the availability of accurate data on these specific weather parameters. Because of this, damage mitigation is now easier. It increases farmers’ resilience against extreme temperature conditions in their areas. Packetworx also provided the bureau with a dashboard that lets them view data trends on these weather parameters.
PAGASA specializes in weather forecasting and Packetworx assists in improving their technical capability in this area. As a result, they can conduct data trends analysis. This helps check soil quality that is conducive for better yields. It will reduce damages to crops and improve farming productivity. Through the same trends analysis, the farmers will have more accurate information on when to best plant specific crops. One of the applications of accurate weather data is knowing which type of climate works best for each type of crop that the farmers are planning to cultivate.
‘The data generated by the sensors that we installed in PAGASA’s identified areas will assist our agricultural communities. The trends observed will strengthen their capability to generate better yields, and eventually, optimize financial gains. For Packetworx, this is the very essence of the Internet of Things — improving the overall quality of life.’ said Packetworx’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Bagabaldo.
