The Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to set up 12 soil testing centers throughout the country next year to make soil testing accessible and determine the best crops and farming tools suited for planting in each area in the country.
President Marcos Jr. during his meeting with agriculture officials and the members of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Tuesday, directed the DA to make soil testing more accessible across the country as he lamented the shortage of soil testing centers to do the needed soil analysis.
“We are limited in the soil analysis sector. We cannot tell the farmers how much fertilizer to use. We cannot give them any advice because we don’t know ourselves what the condition of the soil is,” Marcos said.
He said there should be at least one soil testing center for every region to enable agriculturists to respond promptly to farmers seeking guidance on crops suitable on their lands.
The DA initially recommended conducting soil mapping and agricultural liming in parts of Luzon as part of the program to expand the sugar industry.
The President said the solid mapping should apply to all crops.
In response to the President’s directive, DA said the agency is planning some “restructuring” efforts which include establishing at least 12 soil testing centers in 2025.
The President, meanwhile, directed the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to look into forging a partnership between agriculture cooperatives and local government units (LGUs) to strengthen development and training of farmers.
Marcos initially wanted the DA to create an office within the agency that would focus solely on the capacity building and professionalization of agricultural cooperatives, but later said that the cooperatives are within the ambit of the CDA.
“Maybe we have to come to some kind of partnership for LGUs that are interested, or (tap) the areas that we would like to organize better,” he said in a news release from the Presidential Communication Office.
The CDA, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is tasked to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments of equity, social justice and economic development.
The President, in the same meeting with PSAC, committed government’s support for the body’s “Bayani ng Pilipinas” campaign in championing farmers as heroes of the country.
He said concerned government agencies would start to formulate ideas to better promote the campaign.
