Marcos orders DA to make soil testing more accessible nationwide

URBAN RICE FIELDS / JANUARY 17, 2024 A farmer inspects farm plots after planting rice for second cropping season at a 1,000 square meter rice field in Sitio Libis, Barangay Krus na Ligas in Quezon City on Wednesday, January 17, 2024. (INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to improve the number of soil testing centers nationwide, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos issued the directive during a meeting with the DA in Malacañang on Tuesday.

“Kulang na kulang tayo sa (we severely lack) soil analysis. 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,” the PCO quoted Marcos as saying.

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The president stressed that there should be at least one soil testing center for every region to allow agriculturists to “respond promptly to farmers seeking guidance on crops suitable on their lands.”

Meanwhile, the DA, for its part, said “restructuring” efforts are now being undertaken to increase the number of government soil testing centers.

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The DA said it is aiming to have a total of 12 facilities by 2025.