BY EDISON JOSEPH GONZALES
Before your next chocolate bar reaches your hands, consider this: a text message may have helped protect the cacao that made it possible.
In Davao City, SpaceCrop equips Filipino cacao farmers with satellite imagery, drones, and soil sensors that detect crop stress before it becomes visible.
“We’re basically giving farmers a weather forecast for their crops,” said Mary Grace Gasco, founder and chief executive officer of SpaceCrop, in an interview on BNC’s “Beautiful Day.”
Gasco grew up in Mindanao, in an agroforestry community. She studied geography at the University of the Philippines and earned a master’s in environmental sciences in Hungary. European tech incubation programs inspired her to merge agriculture and space science.
“I grew up surrounded by farming. Technology and agriculture aren’t separate for me. They meet in the field,” Gasco said.
SpaceCrop first deployed smart irrigation and early warning systems in Europe in 2022. Last year, it received an innovation award from CIRTA to pilot the technology in Southeast Asia, selecting cacao farms in Davao because the crop faces rising demand, falling production, and escalating prices.
The system combines satellites, drones, and soil sensors to monitor farms. Satellites track the farm canopy from orbit, drones capture detailed images of cacao pods under intercropped trees like coconuts and durians, and soil sensors measure nutrients including nitrogen, potassium, and sodium. Data from all three sources feeds predictive models that warn farmers of disease, drought, or other threats days or weeks in advance.
When fully operational, farmers receive SMS alerts with real-time information on soil, weather, and potential risks. The messages guide preventive action, from adjusting irrigation schedules to monitoring for pests.
“Farmers already know their land,” Gasco said. “They can tell a lot just by looking. What we provide is foresight, helping them prepare for what’s coming.”
Collaboration with local farmers is central. Their decades of experience validate SpaceCrop’s data and refine its predictive models.
“We’re introducing new tools, but farmers are the experts on the ground,” Gasco said. “Technology only works when people understand and trust it.”
The pilot is ongoing, but early results suggest the system could protect yields and strengthen the local cacao industry.
“With AI and satellite tools becoming accessible, it’s a great opportunity for farmers,” Gasco said. “But tech is just a tool. Collaboration is what makes it powerful.”
Amid climate change and unpredictable weather, SpaceCrop shows how technology can complement traditional farming practices. For chocolate lovers, it could mean more consistent harvests and better bars of chocolate.
“What matters most,” Gasco said, “is bringing communities together to improve solutions for farmers, and for everyone who depends on them.”
