THE UNIVERSITY of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines held a soft launch of its mobile application aimed to be a marketplace for bamboo.

Dubbed as the “Bamboost App,” the application is dedicated to help the stakeholders of the bamboo industry in trading and selling their products.

“The user testing is meant to introduce the Bamboost App to bamboo farmers, processors and entrepreneurs who will eventually be the target clients once it is already up and running,” USTP said.

The app is the outcome of a project titled “Mainstreaming of Bamboost App as an Online Marketing Platform of Bamboo Farmers in Select Science & Technology Community-Based Farm (STCBF) Sites.”

The project is the thesis output of Analiza Diaz from the Technology Transfer and Promotion Division. It is being led by Prof. Love Jhoye M. Raboy, associate professor at the USTP Cagayan de Oro Department of Information Technology

Its development was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

The initial target sites of the application are communities in the provinces of Bukidnon, Iligan, and Iloilo.

“This project is not only important for us because of its eventual success in terms of technology generation and commercialization, and an improvement in marketing strategies for our local commodities; but more importantly because this will contribute to the sustainable and inclusive development of bamboo farming communities and cooperatives,” TTPD Assistant Director Jose Tomas Cabagay said.