Smart Fires Up New LTE Sites in Southern Leyte, Strengthening Farming Communities

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The Philippines’ leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc.’s (PLDT) wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has expanded its network coverage in Southern Leyte by rolling out new LTE sites in the town of Saint Bernard, boosting livelihood opportunities through connectivity and technology in the province.

Among those that would benefit from these upgrades are Saint Bernard’s farmers. Southern Leyte’s economy is mostly agriculture-driven, its main crops being coconut and palay.

“Technology is a game-changer for farmers in agriculture-based provinces like Southern Leyte. With reliable connectivity, farmers can access key information such as real-time weather updates, as well as learn more about modern-day farming techniques. By harnessing technology and digital tools, our farmers can make informed decisions, reduce losses, and increase their productivity, elevating the quality of life for farmers and their families, and boosting economic growth of the province,” said Debbie M. Hu, FVP and Wireless Network Head at Smart.

Danny Balasico, president of Tambis St. Bernard Farmers Irrigators Association, expressed his delight on Smart’s network expansion in their town. “Since communication and connectivity are becoming more essential in today’s increasingly digital world, our association can benefit from this network expansion as we work toward integrating technology in our farming operations and livelihood,” he said.

Enabling them to maximize these network enhancements, PLDT and Smart also continue to deploy FarmTech packages across the country to augment the digitalization efforts of local farmers. Tambis St. Bernard Farmers Irrigators Association is the first farmer-group from Southern Leyte to receive this training kit.

The FarmTech package is a tech-driven training kit designed to assist farming communities in remote areas in implementing digital literacy programs for their farmer-members. The package contains a tablet, 10 smartphones, a SmartBro pocket WiFi with Smart Prepaid load cards, an outdoor projector, a portable sound system, and learning resources.

“We sincerely thank PLDT, Smart, and the Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute Region 8 for choosing our association to be one of the beneficiaries of this package. With these tools and the enhanced connectivity in our area, we are more motivated to train our farmer-members on how to utilize mobile devices and applications to improve our farming practices,” said Balasico.

Smart’s continued investments in its network infrastructure and innovative products and services to help boost the livelihood of Filipino farmers and fisherfolk are aligned with the PLDT Group’s commitment to help the country achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), particularly UNSDG No. 1 on No Poverty, UNSDG No. 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, and UNSDG No. 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.