Philippines: Urban agricultural vital to food security says Agriculture Secretary William Dar
He said urban farms could provide impoverished communities with a steady and practical supply of nutritious food.
By Catherine Talavera
The Philippine Star
September 12, 2021
Excerpt:
Agriculture Secretary William Dar has emphasized the role of urban agriculture in ensuring food supply amid the pandemic as it works toward boosting food security.
During the Conference on Urban Agroecology and Food Security, Dar stressed the effects of the pandemic on the national food supply, especially in non-producing areas.
“With economies constrained by lockdowns, we are worried about food security in urban areas dependent on food produced in the countryside. With the supply chain disruptions, urban areas with sparse lands used for agriculture were menaced by the rising costs of food,”Dar said.
He said the necessary quarantine measures made urban food supplies acutely sensitive to demand shocks.
This in turn has driven public interest in growing fruit and vegetables at home.
He said urban farms help local governments reduce the consequences of disruption in any part of the food value chain.
“While we may not have fully mapped out the effects of COVID-19 on the world’s hunger, one fact is by now evident. The food shortages seen in many urban communities around the world would not have been as keenly felt if the urban poor grew food right where they live,” Dar said.
