Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday urged senators to support sweeping reforms and substantially increase investments in the agriculture sector, saying bold action is needed to correct decades of underinvestment that have left Filipino farmers behind and the country dependent on imports.
In his presentation to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan, Tiu Laurel laid out the urgency of modernizing the sector—from irrigation and logistics to 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,” the DA secretary said. He stressed that investment must match ambition if the Philippines is to achieve self-sufficiency and food security.
Tiu Laurel also called for the amendment laws that hobble the growth of the farm sector, particularly the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and the Local Government Code. He said the RTL, while well-intentioned, has stripped the DA and National Food Authority of the ability to stabilize rice supply and prices.
“As currently written, RTL does not reform the rice industry—it threatens to kill it,” he warned. He also decried the devolution of agricultural extension services under the Local Government Code, likening the DA to “a general without soldiers.”
Despite constraints, Tiu Laurel cited recent gains: NFA warehouses are near full capacity, the establishment of a Virology Center, and the upcoming launch of a real-time command center for market data. He also pointed to foreign-backed initiatives, including Korea’s agri-machinery complex and France’s farm-to-market bridges.
Domestic programs such as faster insurance payouts, affordable agri-credit, and youth agripreneurship are also showing promise. “Our goal is clear: import only what we need, and produce as much as we can,” Tiu Laurel told senators.
“Let us ensure that the hands that feed the nation do not go home empty—robbed of dignity, stripped of dreams,” pleaded the DA chief, adding: “Sabi nga, hindi lang sapat na kumain sila sa handaan—dapat may Sharon pa!”
