To boost the country’s food production, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched six new crop and research facilities in Malate, Manila.

They are the Crop Research and Production Support Division Building; BIOTECH and National Plant Quarantine Services Division Extension (PQS NAIA) Building; National Crop Pest Management Center; BPI-NPQSD Central Laboratory; BPI Smart Greenhouse; and BPI Controlled Environment Indoor Cultivation System.

“When we were inaugurating those facilities, I could see the Bureau of Plant Industry in a new environment under the new normal. It brings us to do our jobs much more seriously and see to it that we impact the lives of our farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture,” said DA Sec. William Dar.

The Crop Research and Production Support Division Building was constructed under the BPI-Rice Seed Component Program in support of the National Seed Research Program while the National Plant Quarantine Services Division-NAIA Annex Building houses the BPI Biotechnology Office and the PQS-NAIA Administrative Office, which support the core operations of the Bureau.

Meanwhile, the National Crop Pest Management Center hosts four special sub-facilities specializing in quick detection, surveillance, and monitoring plant pests and diseases. At the same time, the BPI-NPQSD Central Laboratory is host to workrooms dedicated to planting pathology, entomology, seed health, and molecular analysis.

The two other BPI facilities, which were funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) – Urban Bayanihan, aim to promote urban agriculture to address food access challenges in the urban areas.

“Our farmers, fishers, and the mass of Filipino consumers are being squeezed by global circumstances. We have to do our jobs to lessen the suffering and the damage to human development caused by conflicts, pandemics, and the African Swine Fever, which up to this day is still lurking,” Dar said.