A national seed technology park that will serve as the core of the Philippines' modern crop industry will soon rise within the New Clark City (NCC) in Capas, Tarlac.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Friday, July 9, kicked off the development of the Philippines’ first National Seed Technology Park (NSTP) which will serve as a home for a seed laboratory, incubation hubs, a machinery shed, soil and water chemistry laboratory, and other support facilities.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the NSTP will take the country one step towards industrialization and modernization of the agriculture industry.
The NSTP would be the first to rise within the 50-hectare Agro-Industrial Business Corridor (ABC) at the NCC. The BCDA will then develop the second phase of the NSTP which would cover the remaining 43 hectares and would be dedicated to agribusiness developments, including the downstream and upstream linkages in the agricultural value chains.
In December 2020, the DA and BCDA signed a memorandum of agreement for the New Clark City Agro-Industrial Business Corridor and NSTP which are envisioned to lay the foundation for the future of Philippine agriculture.
On July 9, the DA-led "Seeds for the Future" campaign was also launched, highlighted by the planting of about 500 indigenous and endemic trees onsite to ensure that the biodiversity and sustainability principles of NCC are met.
The campaign aims to encourage strong partnerships among the public and private organizations and with the local communities that would lead to the production, promotion, and availability of quality seed stock both for farming and commercial plantation.
It also seeks to bring in multi-stakeholder partnerships through capacity-building, access to modern laboratory services, and connectivity in the seed value chain for local and export markets.