Sometimes the key to food security is just right around the corner, especially for urban dwellers. And the Department of Agriculture (DA) believes so.
The agriculture department is now encouraging residents of urban areas to plant their own organic produce as an alternative key to achieve food security.
“This is a possible alternative in addressing our production woes. In fact, one of our concerns today is the shrinking hectarage of farm lands,” Agriculture Undersecretary for Special Concerns Ranibai Dalingalen said.
“Our theme is ‘Sa Maliit na Epasyo, May Pagkain Tayo [Grow food in small land space].’ We are encouraging our residents in the urban areas to plant because when we produce our own vegetables we do not only harvest healthy vegetables, but we could also earn additional income,” Dalingalen said.
The DA recently launched its urban agriculture and feeding program, dubbed as “Urban Agriculture-Pagkain Para sa Masa”, with Dalingalen spearheading the program.
“This is consistent with the goal of the Department of Agriculture to ensure sufficient, nutritious and affordable food to urban-poor families,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in DA Memorandum Order 18.
“It is the policy of the state to empower its constituency by enhancing their capability to produce their own food through adoption of various means of vegetables and other alternative staple-crop production,” Piñol added.
Major components
The DA’s urban-agriculture program of the current administration has three components: urban gardening training skills; mushroom culture; and feeding program. These three components make the current administration’s urban-agriculture program different from before, according to Dalingalen.
“We have a training component wherein we will distribute seedlings to our urban residents. We are going to put up communal farms in every identified area that would serve as demonstration farms and learning sites for our residents,” she said.
Dalingalen also said the DA, through its attached agency, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), would provide urban-gardening skills training for city residents. Dalingalen added that under the feeding program component of the project, the department will distribute gourmix—a porridge rich in vitamins—in partner local government unit (LGU) communities.
“We will also introduce aquaponics and hydroponics to our urban residents. In hydroponics you will not anymore need land for cultivation, it will only require water,” the official said.
“Meanwhile, aquaponics is sort of having an artifical fishpond where you can grow tilapia, which you could utilize for consumption or to sell if you have an excess supply. The Amas [Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service] will help our residents to market their excess produce,” the official added.
Targeting the youth
Dalingalen also said the DA is also seeking an agreement with the Department of Education to revive the Gulayan sa Paaralan (School vegetable gardening) project to entice young ones into urban agriculture.
The DA launched its urban-agriculture program in Barangay Bahay Toro in Quezon City, which would serve as the pilot area and model communal farm for the project. The department is eyeing to identify 30 partner-communities in the National Capital Region for the program, according to Dalingalen.
Proper implementation
Earlier, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar told the BusinessMirror that the government should establish more urban gardens and roll out more agriculture-related programs in cities to boost the country’s food supply.
Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said urban gardening could help augment food supply in cities, particularly when farms in rural areas are hit by natural disasters.
“The Philippines is the most disaster-prone country in the world. It’s not surprising if later on our provinces would be hit by disasters and they are not able to bring in their produce to Metro Manila,” Villar said in an earlier interview.
“It’s better that we also have our own food production in the Metro Manila, so if that situation happens we are self-sustaining in terms of our food. It’s time to make a serious effort [to expand] urban gardening in Metro Manila,” she said. While the DA has a number of urban-farming programs, Villar noted that these are not being implemented properly.
During the Aquino administration, the DA allocated some P10 million to launch an urban-gardening program. The budget was used for the procurement and distribution of seeds and garden tools, as well as fishing equipment to homeowners, barangays and public schools.
Former Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said urban agriculture may not be able to produce all what city dwellers need, but it was a way to increase awareness on agriculture and food security.
For Gerald Sioco, CEO of Quezon City-based Cedarhills Garden Center, urban gardening in the country needs more awareness campaign to entice people to venture into such activity, particularly the youth.
“Urban gardening needs more PR, it needs more hype. Compared to the new generation who are busy right now, it’s unpopular to them. Unlike the senior ones, it is very popular to most of them,” Sioco told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
“Most of the adults wants to live in farms or to be surrounded with…[greeneries] surrounding [them], when they retire. They want to grow their own produce,” Sioco added.
Sioco pointed out that urban gardening today has become easier than ever due to the advancement of technology and availability of convenient planting materials.
“We want to tell the people that there is a way to make it easy for you to adjust to urban gardening with your lifestyle—no matter what your lifestyle is. If your problem is time, space, container, sunlight or what ever you have there are solutions for it,” he said.
Image credits: Boonsom|dreamstime.com
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