The Department of Agriculture (DA) said production of banana, ube, garlic, white potato, and other high-value crops in the country will improve following the upgrade of a tissue culture laboratory and biocontrol agents facility in Los Baños, Laguna.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Sunday the upgraded facilities were equipped with modern tools for the mass propagation of healthy, high-yielding planting materials to farmers. Tiu Laurel added he will secure funding for the expansion of the facilities by 2026.
He said the facilities, operated by the Bureau of Plant Industry–Los Baños National Crop Research, Development and Production Support Center, will be “a solid step toward long-term food security.”
The DA did not cite specific improvement targets.
“First of all, this will help in providing free, quality and disease-free planting materials to our farmers… I still find this facility a bit small, so by 2026, I will find a way to increase the budget for its expansion,” Tiu Laurel added.
The DA said the government already spent P6 million on the two science facilities.
Tiu Laurel underscored the urgent need to reduce the country’s dependence on imported garlic and ginger, noting that 95 percent of garlic in the market have stayed imported all these years.
“Even halving that importation would be a major win,” he said.
The DA head also cited ube as a potential big export income earner.
“Ube is something we can proudly call our own. When it comes to ube-based products, I think we’re among the best in the world,” Tiu Laurel further said.
Alongside the tissue lab, the upgraded biocontrol agents facility, funded by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research, will promote more sustainable, chemical-free farming by improving pest and disease management, the DA said.
The facility will be crucial in improving resilience against climate and market shocks, the DA stressed.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country produced a total of 8,690,496.11 metric tons (MT) of bananas in 2024, a 3.6 percent decline from the 9,019,440.87 MT produced in 2023.
The PSA said the Philippines produced 5,419.26 MT of dried garlic bulb in 2024, down 5.9 percent from 2023’s 5,765.06 MT.
PSA data also showed the country produced 102,790.84 MT of potatoes in 2024, up 2.7 percent from the 100,054.60 MT produced in 2023.