Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday asked senators to support sweeping reforms and scale up investments in the agriculture sector, saying it would take more than P1 trillion to reverse decades of underfunding that have left Filipino farmers behind and the country heavily dependent on imports.
Tiu Laurel, in a presentation before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan, stressed the urgent need to modernize Philippine agriculture through massive investment in irrigation, logistics, market access and legislative support.
“To irrigate over a million hectares of farmland, we need more than P1 trillion. Without it, we enrich foreign farmers while our own continue to struggle,” he said, stressing that investment should match ambition for the country to achieve food security and self-sufficiency.
The DA chief also called for amendments to laws that he said hobble the sector’s growth, particularly the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and the Local Government Code.
While well-intentioned, he said the RTL has stripped the DA and the National Food Authority (NFA) of tools to stabilize supply and prices.
He also criticized the devolution of agricultural extension services under the Local Government Code, likening the DA to “a general without soldiers.”
Despite structural challenges, Tiu Laurel cited recent progress such as the NFA warehouses nearing full capacity, the establishment of a Virology Center and the forthcoming launch of a real-time market data command center.
He also noted foreign-assisted projects, including Korea’s agri-machinery complex and France’s farm-to-market bridge initiative.
On the domestic front, programs on faster insurance payouts, affordable credit and youth agripreneurship are also gaining traction.
“Our goal is to import only what we must, and produce as much as we can,” he told senators.
“Let us ensure that the hands that feed the nation do not go home empty – robbed of dignity, stripped of dreams,” Tiu Laurel said.
