Farmers to Use STARBOOKS for Livelihood

For the first time, STARBOOKS will be used for livelihood purposes as the Department of Science and Technology 7 inked a deal with a multi-purpose cooperative to provide the latter’s farmer-members useful livelihood information through the digital information kiosk.

The Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative launched its operation of the “Science & Technology Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosk System”, otherwise known as STARBOOKS, in its area at the South Bus Terminal building on August 3, 2017

STARBOOKS is DOST’s nation-wide project aimed at making S&T information accessible and available to our citizens especially those in the countryside. This self-contained computer system serves as a one stop shop digital compendium of S&T information gathered from local and foreign sources.

The digital information kiosks, which are also now installed in various educational institutions around the country, are repositories for science and technology and livelihood information that could be digitally accessed by users offline.

DOST-7 installed, for educational purposes, more than 150 STARBOOKS in different schools in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor in Region 7.

The cooperative sought the installation of STARBOOKS in its office to help its farmer-members improve their livelihood opportunities by enabling them to access to the livelihood video contents of the digital information system.

This project is undertaken by the cooperative in partnership with DOST 7 as part of the former’s livelihood and employment program.

As farmers now have access to the information system that could provide them better income opportunities, STARBOOKS is expected to positively impact on the agricultural sector in terms of livelihood enhancement. (DOST / L. Gingoyon)