The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is funding the country’s first “smart farm” – a P128-M program that will promote urban farming and high-tech plant conservation. Funded by the DOSTPhilippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), the smart farm is a facility for the Smart Plant Production in Controlled Environments (SPICE). During the course of the program, plants will be grown in a controlled environment where the climate, the lighting, and the irrigation system can be monitored, controlled, and changed real-time through the use of electronics, sensors, and automation. (Dhel Nazario)