ILOILO – Farmers in Western Visayas will soon have easier access to advanced soil testing and analysis with the deployment of a Mobile Soil Laboratory (MSL) worth P42 million, set to start operations this October.
Funded by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM), the MSL is a customized 10-wheeler truck equipped with state-of-the-art facilities capable of conducting 44 chemical, physical, and microbiological soil tests. These will provide farmers with accurate, science-based data to help improve land productivity, ensure proper fertilizer use, and promote sustainable farming practices.
According to Babylou Magdaug, chief of the Regional Soils Laboratory of DA Region 6, the mobile lab can release test results within five days, and in some cases, within the day once samples are ready. The services, which cover crops such as rice, corn, high-value crops, vegetables, and root crops, will be offered to farmers free of charge.
The MSL is part of the National Soil Health Program’s Strategy 2: Monitoring of Soil Health, which supports Presidential Decree No. 1435. A total of 16 units were distributed nationwide last June 30 to make soil health services more accessible to farmers across different regions.
DA-6 Regional Executive Director Dennis R. Arpia expressed gratitude to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for their support in advancing science-based agricultural programs.
“This is a significant step in showing our farmers that there are still many improvements we can achieve. We need science to further develop agriculture and improve the lives of our farmers,” Arpia said.
The initiative underscores the government’s commitment to data-driven crop management that will not only boost yields but also ensure soil conservation for future generations./PN
