If there is a good thing that came out of the overwhelming changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that we had to think how we can achieve resilient and self-sufficient communities especially in urban areas.
“In the past years, the adapters of urban agriculture in Baguio constitute a small population due to abundance of vegetables in the market,” said Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Baguio Center Chief Dr. Jesus Aspuria during the Launching of Techno-Demo on Urban Agriculture on July 30, 2020.
However, the current health crisis has pushed the urban households to grow their own food as necessity.
Plant Plant Plant
Since March, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera with its different bureaus and partner organizations started distributing seeds and seedlings in the different barangays of Baguio City. Survival gardens became one of the best practices of the city government. Learning sites and integrated urban agriculture projects also received support and assistance from DA.
A memorandum of agreement between the Agriculture Department and the City Government for the Urban Agriculture Project further boosts the promotion of food security in the Cordillera urban center.
Recently, the BPI Baguio Center launched the techno-demo on urban agriculture project adopting barangays Lower Magsaysay, Upper Dagsian, Scout Barrio, and Imelda Marcos as pilot areas. The selected barangays received seeds, fertilizers, and equipment to start up their community urban gardens.
Communities in focus
The adoption of the four initial barangays for the urban agriculture project is among the efforts of the government to empower not only households but urban communities as well to grow their own food.
“We also would like to develop the concept of community gardens because the community gardens will really help us sustain by producing their own planting materials for crops and fledglings of animals since urban agriculture is only for crops,” said Dr. Rossana Mula, Agricultural Training Institute Assistant Director and Urban Agriculture Focal Person.
Aside from ensuring availability of food, community gardens give the barangays, especially low- income households, access to safe and nutritious food amid the pandemic.
Establishing and maintaining community gardens can also be an activity that residents in the barangays can do while localized lockdowns due to COVID-19 are imposed.
“The implementation of urban agriculture need not to be complicated and expensive. What’s important is the needs of the barangay from which the design can be based on,” said Dr. Aspuria.
Changing perspectives
Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the government also aims to change the perspective of the country, particularly the youth, about agriculture by engaging them in planting and growing their own food.
“We have to inculcate in the minds of our youth to go into agriculture, particularly for them to appreciate urban agriculture, by engaging them to plant just to give them the idea that agriculture is such a noble endeavor and is very beneficial,” explained Dr. Mula.
Bringing urban agriculture in the barangays also gives an avenue where youth can be exposed and learn basic gardening skills.
“We are very excited because we are part of this project which will give us barangays the chance to learn about more these endeavors,” said Imelda Village Sangguniang Kabataan Chair Angelo dela Cruz.
Moving towards the new normal
Urban agriculture is not a new concept in most households. Dr. Aspuria said that the Filipinos’ love for planting has always been there and a little push is just needed to reignite it.
“Wherever house you, if there are no vegetables planted there are always ornaments around,” he added.
As such, the government is pouring in support to encourage more citizens to engage in agriculture particularly in growing their own food.
Projects including the distribution of seeds, promotion of survival gardens and urban agriculture have already yielded positive feedbacks from barangays.
City veterinarian Dr. Brigitte Piok shared that some barangays in the city who have already established their urban gardens were able to harvest their produce. Some households who ventured into integrated urban agriculture were able to get vegetables, eggs, and even tilapia which sustained them during the community lockdowns due to COVID-19.
“I hope other barangays will also have projects like these since we cannot yet tell when this pandemic will end,” said Dr. Aspuria.
Aside from urban gardening, the DA is also looking forward to boosting integrated urban agriculture combining poultry and aquaponics, among others, with vegetable gardening.
Piok said that learning sites for integrated urban agriculture are being established in Lucnab and Irisan with the assistance of DA. These project sites can be avenues for the communities to learn concepts to improve their community gardens.
“Let us continue this project even after this pandemic. Urban agriculture is important since everyone needs to eat,” said DA-Cordillera Regional Executive Director Cameron Odsey. **JDP/JJPM-PIA CAR