In two weeks, the Agriculture Department and the office of Tondo, Manila Congressman Manny Lopez will launch a unique but simple program which aims to help urban poor families grow their own vegetables and raise Tilapia for their own consumption in the limited space of their tenements and the neighbourhood.
“Gulay sa Likod Bahay” (Vegetable in the Backyard) and “Pala-Isdaan sa Bayan” (Fishpond in Urban Area) are actually two of the three programs which I conceptualised to address the need for additional food supply and nutrition of the urban poor, especially in the blighted areas like the Smokey Mountain and Payatas.
“Gulay sa Likod Bahay” involves a half-day orientation workshop on how to grow vegetables in plastic containers which could be hung by the windows or walls of the tenements or on the rooftop of the many tenements built by government for the former squatter families.
After the half-day orientation workshop, each participating family will be provided with seeds of common vegetables like Pechay, Okra, Eggplant, Tomato and even Red Sili, plastic containers and a sack of pre-mixed soil with organic fertiliser.
By growing the vegetables themselves, the families are expected not only to provide their children with nutritious and fresh food but also reduce the daily expense for food.
“Pala-Isdaan sa Bayan” is a program handled by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) which aims to establish fish tanks capable of growing 3 to 4 tons of Tilapia.
The fish tanks, called “Circles of Life,” were designed by my friend Southern California Tilapia Farmer Rocky French and will be equipped with two Venturi pumps which will move the water from one tank to the other to provide aeration and allow high density Tilapia growing.
The fish stocks and feeds, including the two fish tanks, will be provided by BFAR to urban poor women who will be organised to manage the “Pala-Isdaan.”
Managed well, one “Pala-Isdaan” set up could produce 2 metric tons of Tilapia after three to four months and earn for the women at least P300,000 per cycle.
The third program, “Itlog Pang-Araw-Araw” involves the distribution of 10 Ready-to-Lay Pullets with battery cages to produce the daily egg requirements of a family.
A validation of the Tondo area on Friday, however, showed that the “Itlog Pang-Araw-Araw” may not be viable because of the lack of space and the possible health issues.
Yesterday, Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat organised a group from the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Agricultural Training Institute and the BFAR to conduct a validation of the Smokey Mountain area.
The verdict was “Gulayan” and “Pala-Isdaan” are doable.
On Oct. 27, the programs to produce vegetables and grow Tilapia will be launched in the former slums of Tondo, an innovation which I expect would make the urban poor of Metro Manila realise that under President Rody Duterte, there is always something for everyone and everybody is cared for.
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