National Seed Reserve opens in Quezon City

THE Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said it inaugurated the National Seed Reserve in Quezon City on Thursday.

The facility, opened by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. and BPI Director Gerald Glenn F. Panganiban has the capacity to store nearly 9,000 bags of seed and is solar-powered to help preserve seed quality. The reserve will be released to aid in crop production as well as in support of recovery efforts following natural disasters.

Mr. Laurel said a reserve of quality seed will help farmers replant quickly, aid in the recovery of food production, and strengthen agricultural resiliency in the face of typhoons drought, and other climate-driven disruptions.

Mr. Panganiban told reporters that the BPI is hoping to open more such seed reserves in its National Crop Research, Development, and Production Support Centers in Baguio City, Los Baños, Laguna; Guimaras; La Carlota, Negros Occidental; and Davao City.

Mr. Laurel told reporters that the Department of Agriculture is providing the BPI a P250 million in funding this year to establish more reserves, increasing to P300 million by next year. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza