The Department of Agriculture (DA) has called on the Senate to significantly increase funding and support for the farm sector, warning that decades of underinvestment have left the country reliant on imports and its farmers struggling.
In a presentation to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. emphasized the urgent need for modernization, from irrigation and logistics to market access and legislative support.
“To irrigate over a million hectares of farmland, we need more than P1 trillion,” Laurel said in a statement on Wednesday. “Without it, we enrich foreign farmers while our own continue to struggle.”
Laurel stressed the country cannot achieve self-sufficiency and food security unless investment matches its ambitions. He also reiterated the need to amend policies that are hindering the sector’s growth, specifically citing the Rice Tariffication Law and the Local Government Code, which he argued has weakened the DA’s ability to provide agricultural extension services.
Despite these challenges, Laurel highlighted the DA’s recent progress, including near-full capacity at National Food Authority warehouses, the establishment of a virology center, and the upcoming launch of a real-time command center for market data.
He also noted ongoing foreign-backed initiatives, such as an agri-machinery complex with South Korea and farm-to-market bridges with France, alongside domestic programs offering faster insurance payouts and affordable credit.
“Our goal is clear: import only what we need, and produce as much as we can,” Laurel said. “Let us ensure that the hands that feed the nation do not go home empty—robbed of dignity, stripped of dreams.”
