Officials of the Korean International Cooperation’s Agency (KOICA) visited the DA-PCC at CLSU’s National Bull Farm (NBF) in Digdig Joson, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija for capacity building on drone utilization for forage production in the Philippines last August 24.
DA-PCC OIC Executive Director Dr. Caro B. Salces and KOICA Director of the International Development Cooperation Center (IDCC) Jaeyun Chang led the team that inspected and collected data required to operate the drone.
According to Dr. Salces, the project is seen to help in the development of drone-based precision farming techniques that will effectively improve forage development for productive dairy buffaloes.
Said data will be used to assess, evaluate, and estimate the herbage productivity of the area and to identify plant nutrient deficiencies in the National Bull Farm. The project’s goal is to develop precision technologies for livestock production such as planting and seeding, crop maintenance, crop monitoring, and health evaluation and management.
Ultimately, according to the implementation team, this technological advancement will aid in the monitoring and yield estimation of forage through remote sensing technologies and to support the development of feed input production through utilization of drones in the livestock industry. DA-PCC’s NBF is home to a vast resource of forage species, legumes and grasses. The farm is an expanse of 520 hectares and is planned to be a good testing area for the project’s purpose.
