The Department of Agriculture has made soil testing and analysis more accessible for farmers in Western Visayas with the deployment of a state-of-the-art mobile soil laboratory (MSL) dedicated to the region.

The PHP42 million MSL from the DA Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) is capable of 44 chemical, physical, and microbiological soil tests that will provide farmers with accurate and science-based data to enhance land productivity and sustainability.

“The mobile lab can quickly generate results of soil tests for farmers within five days and as fast as within the day when the samples are already collected for analysis,” Babylou Magdaug, DA Western Visayas chief of the Regional Soils Laboratory, said in a statement on Friday.

It will help farmers adopt data-driven crop management practices to guide them in applying fertilizer properly and efficiently, and soil conservation, he added.

The free soil test is open to farmers cultivating rice, corn, high-value crops, vegetables, and even root crops.

The provision of MSL to DA regional offices across the country is part of the National Soil Health Program Strategy 2: Monitoring of Soil Health.

The customized 10-wheeler truck mobile laboratory arrived in Iloilo on Aug. 14 and is currently stationed at the Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center in Barangay Hamungaya in this city’s Jaro district.

It is expected to be operational in October. (PNA)