HER pitch to use satellite data to monitor drought occurrences in agricultural areas made Dr. Gay Jane Perez the first Filipina scientist to win the Asean-US Science
Prize for Women.
An associate professor of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman Campus and a native of Naga City, Camarines Sur, Perez bested seven other equally interesting studies done by women scientists from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.
She took home a cash prize of US$20,000 in a pitch competition on Thursday during the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology in the Philippines held at the Shangri-La Mactan Cebu Resort and Spa.
Perez’s work focuses on the use of remote sensing, satellite meteorology, climate monitoring and prediction tools to better derive data for agricultural areas.
She is currently leading a project called Drought and Crop Assessment and Forecasting in the Philippines that aims to develop a drought index suitable for the detection of drought in agriculture.
While she admitted that the project needs further improvement, Perez said it has shown a 73-percent accuracy in identifying drought occurrences.
At present, the project is being evaluated by the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Atmospheric and Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management. The output will be integrated into their operations so they can give better advice to farmers and the public on droughts that could affect the yield of crops.
“The goal is to come up with advisories up to the farm level,” said Perez.
Her win came as a surprise.
In an interview yesterday, Perez said she didn’t expect to become a finalist and represent the Philippines, citing equally interesting projects pitched by the other scientists.
“I am surprised I got it this far,” she said, admitting she got intimidated by the video presentations of her fellow finalists, describing them as professionally done.
From a list of eight, the US Mission to Asean and the US Agency for International Development, in partnership with Underwriters Laboratories, picked the works of Malaysia and the Philippines.
Ryan Washburn, head of the US delegation to the Asean Committee of Science and Technology Meetings, said they received over 60 applications from the region but Perez’s work stood out because they saw the potential of her work to be applied in the region.
This year’s competition focused on precision agriculture. It seeks to award those working at the intersection of agriculture, digital tools, technology and data in support of smallholder farmers and regional agriculture.
Agriculture is vital to most Asean economies, as it provides livelihoods to a big segment of the population.
Asean has among the top three exporting countries for mangoes, bananas, pineapples, cashew nuts, cassava and coffee.
It is also the leading producer and exporter of coconut, palm oil and rubber.
In her three-minute video talk, the 37-year-old Filipina scientist pitched her research about the use of satellite data to derive geophysical parameters such as surface temperature, soil moisture, rainfall, vegetation indices and evapotranspiration.
She said the use of satellite data to monitor agricultural areas is advantageous because of its comprehensive coverage and good temporal resolution.
She said it could help agencies determine which agricultural areas need government intervention in the midst of rapid urbanization, climate change and natural hazards.
Perez said Asean’s booming population is posing a challenge to the region’s capacity to attain food security.
Projects such as hers provide significant information that would help farmers increase their yield.
Besides working with government agencies, Perez said they are also working with state universities and colleges across the country to monitor crops using their technology.
Perez said they have identified five state colleges and universities in Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Cebu, Bicol and Iloilo as pilot areas.
Pagasa earlier warned of a looming dry spell in the first quarter of 2019.
In its latest climate outlook, Pagasa said that at present, there is a 65-percent chance of an El Niño in the fourth quarter of this year. This might have an impact on lower rainfall pattern in January to February next year.