Section 1. For
the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, there is hereby
created a bureau, which shall be known as the Bureau of Soil
Conservation, and shall be under the executive control and supervision
of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Sec. 2. The Bureau of Soil Conservation shall have
a head, who shall be known as the Director of Soil Conservation, to be
appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments of the Congress and shall receive a compensation at the
rate of seven thousand and two hundred pesos per annum. There shall be
in the said Bureau such technical personnel and other employees to be
appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources as may
be required to carry out the purposes of this Act: Provided, however,
That the present personnel of the Division of Soil Survey and
Conservation of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
shall be retained.
Subject to the general supervision and control of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Director of Soil Conservation
shall possess the powers generally conferred upon Bureau Chiefs.
Sec. 3. All the divisions, sections, field
activities and agencies of the Government connected with soils work are
hereby transferred to the Bureau of Soil Conservation and such powers,
functions and duties relative to soils vested by law or executive
orders are hereby vested in the Director of Soil Conservation.
The Director of Soil Conservation shall, subject to the approval of the
Secretary of Agriculture and National Resources, organize its personnel
in such divisions or sections as will insure maximum efficiency.
Sec. 4. The Bureau of Soil Conservation shall have
the following powers, duties and functions:
(a) To investigate the genesis an morphological
properties of soils in the fields which includes the depth, structure,
and other visible characteristics which make up the soil in which plant
roots develop and from which plants obtain their nourishment.
(b) To conduct both reconnaissance and detailed soil
surveys, classifying and mapping such soils into series and types.
(c) To undertake land valuation surveys, which lay
the foundation for the development of a permanent system of soil
management and as basis in formulating the land assessment for taxation
and the agricultural and money value of the land.
(d) To survey and map the different agricultural
areas, and determine the extent of damages to the soil caused by soil
erosion, and from these data, to plan a proper land-use program.
(e) To compile the different soil survey data which
are transmitted into soil maps for lithography and printing.
(f) To conduct chemical analysis of soils especially
for the determination of the amounts of the various nutrients to
plants, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium,
iron and sulphur; total humus content for determining the amount of
organic carbon in the soils; and also the silica contents as well as pH
value of the soil.
(g) To conduct spectrographic analysis of the soil
for minor elements; namely, manganese, copper, zinc, and boron, and
study their influence to plant growth.
(h) To discover through chemical, physical and
biological analysis the compounds responsible for the fixation of
fertilizers in the soil, the degree to which different fertilizers are
fixed and the ways whereby undesirable fixation which makes nutrients
unavailable for use by plants may be overcome.
(i) To obtain information needed to establish the
relationship between the nature of the soil and the quality of food
plants which may be grown on it as a basis for improving quality
through the selection of crops for specific soil types and through
fertilization.
(j) To study the works, beneficial or harmful, done
by each kind of micro-organism of the soil; namely, bacteria, fungi,
algae, protozoa, as well as other fauna and flora of the soil which are
busy bringing about chemical and physical changes of enormous
importance to man's use of the soil.
(k) To recommend and regulate the application of
fertilizers for the maintenance of desirable soil properties for the
establishment of optimum conditions for plant growth.
(l) To select and determine the best planting
materials or legumes as effective cover crop to prevent soil erosion
and build up the organic matter of the soil.
(m) To furnish information and data on the proper
methods of land operations adaptable to certain soil types taking into
account the degree of slope of the topography for optimum crop
production.
(n) To propagate the use of erosion control practices
in agriculture through (1) demonstrations of practical
soil-conservation measures, (2) treatment of government-owned lands,
and (3) active assistance to soil conserving farmers.
(o) To cooperate with other government offices or
agencies and to determine what part upstream land treatment and
waterflow retardation can be expected to play in minimizing downstream
flood hazards.
(p) To rejuvenate submarginal lands and determine
their best utilizations, whether as cropland, grazing land,
farm-woodland, or for recreational purposes.
(q) To promote rural welfare by assisting farmers to
develop conservation plans of farm management, to build up the soil and
increase its fertility for increased yield of crops.
(r) To investigate causes of soil erosion and develop
and promote erosion control practices with a view to checking or
minimizing accelerated erosion, and at the same time to increase crop
production.
(s) To formulate water conservation measures by
providing water resources for crop and livestock production, and for
farm-life needs.
(t) To direct investigations to develop effective
practices in farm irrigation and drainage in relation to soil erosion
control and sound land use.
(u) To operate regional soil conservation in the
fields to carry out agronomic, engineering, forestry, range, and
biological phases of soil erosion control and sound land use within the
region.
(v) To organize, co-ordinate and carry out a broad
program of public information and education regarding the use
capabilities of the soils on each farm and soil conservation.
(w) To co-operate with other government agencies or
instrumentalities in the acquisition and setting aside of lands for
settlements and resettlement projects and render technical assistance
on problems relating to soil management and the use capabilities of the
soil under existing economic conditions.
(x) To plan, conduct, and direct a research program
in all fundamental aspects of soil science.
(y) To prepare with the approval of the Secretary of
Agriculture and Natural Resources, forms, instructions, rules and
regulations on all matters on soil consistent with law.
(z) To administer oaths, issue subpoena and subpoena
duces tecum and, if necessary, obtain compulsory process from the
courts.
Sec. 5. Any person failing or refusing to comply
with the legal summons of the Director of Soil Conservation or the
person acting in his stead, or refusing to be sworn previous to
testifying, or refusing to answer pertinent questions, or giving or
furnishing false or misleading data in investigations which may be made
to carry out the purpose of this Act shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a fine not to exceed one thousand pesos, or imprisonment
not to exceed one year, or both, in the discretion of the court, but if
the information or data have been given under oath, the penalties
prescribed by law for perjury shall be imposed.
Sec. 6. The sum set aside in the Appropriation Law
for the Division of Soil Survey and Conservation in the Department of
Agriculture and Natural Resources shall be expended to pay the salaries
and wages of the personnel, to defray field expenses for regional soil
conservation operations, acquisition of farm machinery and equipment,
such as tractors, motor vehicles for field survey, laboratory
apparatuses and equipment, and materials for treatment of soil of the
Bureau of Soil Conservation until June thirty, nineteen hundred and
fifty-one; thereafter Congress shall provide for the annual
expenditures of said Bureau in the annual general Appropriation Acts.
Sec. 7. This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.
Approved: June 5, 1951.
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