One of the greatest ironies in this country is that while we have wide areas for agriculture, many farmer still buy common vegetables like tomatoes and pechay in the market.
I have long asked myself “Why?” and I discovered that the lack of information on how to plant vegetables in the backyard and the unavailability of good seeds and planting materials were the main reason.
On Wednesday, I asked the vegetable seed supply and distribution companies to meet with me in my office in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Quezon City.
I also asked the High Value Crops Division and the Agricultural Training Institute to join the meeting.
Also invited were two French farmer-entreprenuers – my long-time friend Hubert d’Aboville and a proponent of solar-powered vegetable greenhouses.
After about one hour, the following steps were agreed on:
1. The Agriculture Department with the support of the private seeds companies and agencies under the DAF will start a National Backyard Vegetable Gardening Program.
2. The program will be implemented by starting a nation-wide one-day orientation and training on basic gardening teaching participants how to plant vegetables in their backyard.
For Metro Manila and urban residents, training and instructions on how to start urban gardening using discarded containers will be offered.
Several teams will be organised and deployed to the different regions of the country to conduct orientation and training in every town and city.
3. Seeds companies including the major suppliers and producers – Harbest, Ramgo, Allied Botanical – will provide experts to be resource speakers.
4. The ATI will prepare the training module and issue certificates of training to all participants while the High Value Crops Division will provide the funding for the training.
In the 2018 Budget, about P500-M is allocated for vegetable seeds to be distributed.
5. After the training, all participants will be given packets of seeds, including instructional materials, and for urban gardeners, the seeds will come along with planting medium and organic fertiliser.
This program will be started immediately and schedule of trainings will be published in this page and other websites of the different agencies under the Agriculture Department.
It is hoped that with the launching of this national backyard vegetable development program, families will now have access to green leafy nutritious vegetables which they themselves will grow in the backyards.
This is expected to contribute to rice supply sufficiency because studies have shown that when people eat more vegetables their rice consumption becomes less.
Most of all, the program is expected to result in more savings for poor families as they do not have to buy their vegetable supplies in the market.
(Photos of the gardens downloaded from public websites while photos of the meeting with seeds companies in my office were taken by Fathma Sulaik.)
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