Philippines: Urban agriculture program to start at Habitat for Humanity sites nationwide
About a thousand families will benefit from the project for the initial sites in Caloocan City and Calauan, Laguna. For communities with limited space for gardening, Habitat will assist in the coordination with concerned local government units (LGUs) for the establishment of a community garden.
By DA
Government of Philippines
July 17, 2020
Excerpt:
Secretary Dar said that through the UAP, communities would have a sustainable source of fresh, safe, and nutritious food, as it will not be affected by restrictions on the movement of food supply, which has been a major concern during the community quarantine.
Even before the pandemic started, Director Culaste said that the bureau already prepared for the UAP implementation in response to Secretary Dar’s directives during the BPI anniversary in January 2020, anticipating potential food security concerns.
As part of the MOA, the DA-BPI shall provide initial agricultural inputs such as seeds, plastic sheets, nets for greenhouse, knapsack sprayer, urban garden modules, and technical assistance. The team also conducted initial visit and soil tests at the potential project sites in Caloocan, Taguig, Pasig, and Calauan as identified by Habitat.
“We are really looking forward to this partnership and this is very timely with (the problem on) the Covid-19 pandemic,” Fuentes said.
She added that the project would help Habitat support their partner families during the pandemic.
