For the first time in my 79 years, this month I became aware of how much urban agriculture can contribute to PH’s national growth along with rural agriculture. Nobody is too old to learn. The source: Early this June had come out the 8-page SEARCA Policy Paper 2020-3 authored by Rico C Ancog et al. titled “Policy Imperatives To Promote Urban Agriculture In Response To Covid-19 Pandemic Among Local Government Units In The Philippines.”
Urban agriculture, or urban farming, or urban gardening. It is the practice of producing food in and around city areas; it can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agroforestry, beekeeping, and horticulture (Wikipedia[1]).
On Monday, 22 June, according to ANN[2], at the main office of the Department of Agriculture, DA, Secretary of Agriculture William Dar and SEARCA Director Glenn B Gregorio signed a Memorandum of Agreement, formalizing a partnership in establishing urban gardens under the Urban Agriculture Program, UAP, being implemented by the Bureau of Plant Industry, BPI, which is under the DA (Author Not Named, 23 June, PIA). Secretary Dar said the UAP is “one of the modalities (rendering) safe food available, accessible and affordable, while providing additional income to households and communities in urban areas.” He also said:
During this pandemic, we have to really secure every space and see to it that we turn this challenge into an opportunity for agriculture and food. I would like to thank SEARCA under the leadership of Glenn Gregorio for this opportunity to partner with them in promoting and pursuing urban agriculture in a big way.
On his part, Director Gregorio said:
SEARCA sees the importance of promoting urban agriculture to improve the stability of food supply, alleviate poverty, foster social integration among communities, and protect the environment through innovative and eco-friendly gardening methods.
Because of the pandemic, people realized the importance and the source of our food or the food system and (started) to appreciate how fragile it is and how important food security is. With this partnership, I think we will all the more link the academe, the industry and the government. With these three linked together, I think we will have a more sustainable implementation of the urban agriculture program. I think we can have a big impact at the community and the city (levels).
Earlier, I know that under Director Gregorio, SEARCA took the initiative of forging institutional ties with PH Department of Education, DepEd, to establish school gardens.
Among other things, the above SEARCA Policy Paper says:
Overall, it is necessary that people appreciate the multidimensionality of food as its value must not only be about its contribution to their overall physiological well-being, but also in terms of cultural inclusivity and environmental sustainability.
“Cultural inclusivity” – here, the Policy Paper implies we Filipinos are many tribes, so our foods are as varied. I love that it also mentions environmental sustainability – I take that to mean that when we grow our food, we should take care not to cause problems with the soil and the surroundings. I love you, SEARCA!@517
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture
[2]https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1045587?fbclid=IwAR3lGpsNhGqBcR9Nrx7ufcT5CDuBpcbsRI1GMnsDYXe4OE73vETyXcAKaLc
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