The first of 16 mobile soil laboratories was deployed in Nueva Ecija province on June 30.
The program is in line with the 74th and 127th founding anniversaries of the Department of agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), respectively.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. led the formal deployment of the lab at the Philippine Rice Research Institute in the Science City of Munoz.
The keys of 16 newly-commissioned 10-wheeler trucks configured as mobile soil laboratory vehicles were turned over by the President.
The vehicles will provide every region in the country one unit each. These were designed for on-site soil testing and analysis in rural areas.
The laboratories can analyze 44 key parameters, including soil chemical, physical, microbiological and water quality characteristics, to help provide accurate and timely results to the agricultural sector and stakeholders.
Over 1,500 soil samples, covering approximately 30 hectares of farmland, have already been analyzed and tested.
Under Presidential Decree 1435 issued by former President Ferdinand E Marcos, Sr., in 1978, the BSWM is mandated to supervise, regulate and control the establishment and operations of all soil laboratories in the Philippines.