Angara urged Phl geodetic engineers to lead remote sensing in agriculture

MANILA, July 21, 2011-“I urged the country’s geodetic engineers to take the lead in researching the utilization of remote sensing technology for our agriculture to get precise agricultural information,” Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) said, citing the research undertaken by COMSTE.

In the recent induction ceremonies of the Geodetic Engineers’ Development Foundation, Inc., Angara said that there are numerous advantages of utilizing remote sensing data to get exact information on agriculture, saying that remote sensing technology allows farmers to make the best decisions in managing their crops properly through satellite images of agricultural crops and other relevant data on agriculture.

“Our farmers and fisherfolks will be guided on appropriate land use and cropping intensity through the use of remote sensing where it will provide with detection and early warning mechanisms against pest, diseases and inclement weather, Angara said, adding that they will also be better equipped to deal with pollution, disasters and health hazards; thus, remote sensing will be instrumental in averting food crises and attaining food security in the country.

Angara added that remote sensing can also be utilized in establishing information systems that reduce the risks arising from disasters and build up society's resilience to natural catastrophes and climate change. “This forms part of what I call technology-based disaster management. I believe that over the long term, mitigation will prove to be more valuable than relief,” Angara furthered. 

“Geodetic engineering has wide applications in land surverying; point positioning, which includes triangulation with Global Position System (GPS) satellites; remote sensing technologies; and geographic information systems (GIS) where it also involves gathering physical data on the surface of the earth through the use of precision instruments, as well as the scientific and methodical processing of data into graphs, plans, maps, charts or documents,” Angara ended. (Jason de Asis)