ISDApp tool for small scale fishers, Philippines

ISDApp is a Philippine grassroots digital solution that delivers weather information to small-scale fishers who do not have smartphones or reliable internet access. It transforms localized weather data into simple SMS forecasts and alerts, helping coastal communities plan safer trips and adapt to increasingly erratic climate conditions. (Arayata, 2021)

Location and timeline

ISDApp was conceived by iNON IT Solutions, a Filipino team that won the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2018 Galactic Impact Award with the concept. It is deployed in coastal municipalities in the Philippines, notably:

• Sariaya, Quezon (Luzon): one of the first pilot communities.
• Dingalan, Aurora (Luzon east coast): community launch in May 2021. (Arayata, 2021)

The launch in Dingalan was led by the Department of Agriculture-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (DA-NFRDI), together with Globe Telecom, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), iNON and the local government. The Dingalan launch in May 2021 named about 300 fishers as intended beneficiaries, of whom 100 received phones from NFRDI; 93 fishers were given phones at the earlier Sariaya launch (Arayata, 2021). NFRDI reported a 2024 reassessment in Dingalan and Sariaya (Department of Agriculture, 2024); its detailed findings could not be accessed for this review.

How ISDApp works (Flip Science, 2019)

ISDApp addresses a critical digital divide: many fishers own only basic feature phones and lack mobile data or smartphones, yet need precise, timely weather information. ISDApp’s architecture is community-centric:

• A Community Controller (usually a barangay or municipal official) installs the ISDApp smartphone app and sets up the community.
• The official registers the mobile numbers of the fishers in the community.
• ISDApp pulls localized weather and sea-state data (e.g., cloud cover, wind speed, sunrise and sunset) and converts it into simplified forecasts.
• The system sends SMS forecasts daily, before fishers' usual fishing schedules.
• Fishers can also send an SOS text that triggers alerts to the Community Controller and a pre-registered emergency contact, enabling rapid local response.

Crucially, fishers do not need smartphones or data plans; they receive everything through regular text messages.

Costs and implementation (Flip Science, 2019)

Project finances are not fully public, but the cost structure is clear:

• Development and platform costs were borne by iNON and partners, with support from the incubator Animo Labs and from Globe Telecom.
• Operating costs center on cloud hosting and SMS traffic. Globe describes ISDApp as “powered by Globe,” and provided mobile load support to the 300 Dingalan fishers.
• Local implementation costs (training, registration drives, monitoring) are shared: iNON trained the fishers and worked with the local government, and NFRDI provided mobile phones to 100 Dingalan fishers.

Because the system uses existing mobile networks and simple SMS, no new towers are needed, although handsets and mobile load support were provided to some fishers. This keeps capital outlay low relative to the potential safety and livelihood benefits.

Benefits

Safety and climate-risk reduction

ISDApp’s main benefit is enhanced safety at sea:

• Daily and intra-day SMS forecasts help fishers decide whether it is safe to go out or to postpone trips when rough weather is expected.
• Early warnings about heavy rain, strong winds and storms support self-monitoring, reducing exposure to sudden squalls and dangerous sea conditions.
• The SOS feature allows fishers to alert the community in emergencies, improving local response capability.

NFRDI’s reassessment in Dingalan and Sariaya found that fishers consistently viewed ISDApp as useful for determining safe departure times, with one respondent noting it helped determine the best timing for fishing trips. Perceived usefulness is not a measure of avoided deaths, capsizing or damage, which were not quantified in the sources reviewed. (Department of Agriculture, 2024)

Livelihood and efficiency gains

ISDApp also supports livelihoods:

• Knowing favorable windows lets them time departures to balance safety with the best fishing conditions, which may help stabilize income in the face of climate variability.

By discouraging trips on unsafe days, the app can indirectly protect household assets and avoids emergency expenses associated with accidents, which can be devastating for low-income families. (Arayata, 2021)

Social and governance benefits

The solution strengthens local governance and digital inclusion:

• It positions local governments and fisheries agencies as providers of trusted, science-based information, boosting confidence in official warnings.
• Public-private partnerships (with iNON, Globe, NFRDI, BFAR and LGUs) demonstrate a scalable model for delivering climate-risk information to hard-to-reach, low-income populations. (Arayata, 2021)

Because ISDApp is community-managed and free at the point of use, it fits well within the idea of grassroots digital solutions: simple technology, co-designed with users, delivering actionable information to vulnerable groups without demanding expensive devices or connectivity. (Flip Science, 2019)