MANILA — Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. pressed senators to support sweeping reforms and significantly increase investments in the agriculture sector, warning that decades of underinvestment have left Filipino farmers struggling and the country reliant on imports.

In a presentation before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan, Tiu Laurel outlined the need to modernize the sector, from irrigation and logistics to market access and legislative reform.

“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 funding must match ambition if the Philippines is to achieve self-sufficiency and food security.

He urged amendments to laws he said constrain agricultural growth, particularly the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and the Local Government Code. The RTL, he argued, weakened the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Food Authority’s ability to stabilize rice supply and prices.

“As currently written, RTL does not reform the rice industry—it threatens to kill it,” Tiu Laurel said.

He also criticized the devolution of agricultural extension services under the Local Government Code, comparing the DA to “a general without soldiers.”

Despite these challenges, the agriculture chief cited recent developments, including nearly full NFA warehouses, the creation of a Virology Center, and the planned launch of a real-time market data command center. He also highlighted foreign-backed projects, such as Korea’s agri-machinery complex and France’s farm-to-market bridges, as well as domestic initiatives like faster insurance payouts, affordable agri-credit, and youth agripreneurship.

“Our goal is clear: import only what we need, and produce as much as we can,” he said.

“Let us ensure that the hands that feed the nation do not go home empty—robbed of dignity, stripped of dreams. Sabi nga, hindi lang sapat na kumain sila sa handaan—dapat may Sharon pa!” Tiu Laurel added.