The Department of Agriculture (DA) is stepping up its modernization campaign as it pushes to cut the Philippines’ overreliance on imported crops and empower local farmers through science-based innovations.

At the inauguration of two upgraded science facilities in Los Baños on 26 June, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA’s strategy now leans heavily on research and development, long-neglected tools in the fight for food security.

“First and foremost, this will help provide our farmers with free, high-quality, and disease-free planting materials,” he said during the opening of the rehabilitated tissue culture laboratory and biocontrol agents facility at the Bureau of Plant Industry’s National Crop Research, Development, and Production Support Center.

Funded by P6 million from the DA, the facilities are part of a wider push to raise yields, promote sustainable farming, and reduce the country’s dependence on imports – particularly garlic and ginger, of which over 90 percent are brought in from abroad.

Tiu Laurel acknowledged that the lab’s current scale remains modest. 

“I find the facility a bit small, so by 2026, I will find a way to increase the budget for its expansion,” he added.

The Los Baños facilities will propagate clean planting materials for banana, ube, garlic, white potato, and other high-value crops using advanced technologies. The biocontrol lab, on the other hand, will boost pest and disease management without the use of harmful chemicals.

Tiu Laurel pointed to garlic as one of the clearest cases of import dependency that the DA intends to address. 

“Even halving that importation would be a major win,” he said, underscoring the urgency of boosting local production.

He also floated ube as a potential flagship export. 

“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.”

DA officials said the expanded lab operations and new pest-control systems form part of the agency’s evolving strategy that combines science, sustainability, and smallholder support.

Joining the DA chief at the event were BPI Director Glenn Panganiban, DA Region IV-A Director Fidel Libao, and incoming Los Baños Mayor Neil Andrew Nocon. The group also opened a new Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlet on site, monitoring the sale of rice at P20 per kilo.

“Science, scale, and smallholder support must work together,” Tiu Laurel stressed. 

“That’s how we build a stronger agricultural future.”