4 b’gays start planting training with DA – BPI

August 15, 2020 Metro BLISTT

Four barangays here will start training with the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture this Friday on urban gardening, to maximize the small lot they have and could provide the vegetable needs for their community.
“It will be Scout Barrio first, then the other barangays like Upper Dagsian, Imelda Marcos and then Lower Magsayasay,” said Arlene Celo, planning officer of BPI – Cordillera Tuesday. The four barangays were adopted by the DA – Cordillera for its Techno Demo on Urban Agriculture where they will be awarded a starter pack that included: 1 wheelbarrow, a set of gardening tools, water drum, gardening pots, Trichoderma isolates, and seedlings.
But more importantly, they are given the technical know-how to officials and residents of the four barangays. She said that social amelioration program beneficiaries will be those prioritized as they will later on man the gardens.
She said that the four barangays, with the exception of Lower Magsaysay, were recommended by City Veterinarian and Agriculture Office head Dr. Brigit Piok but then the intended fourth village, Lopez Jaena when the program was launched last July 30.
The whole day training will also help residents in preparation of the garden including soils needed using trichoderma or culture management, design garden and pest management, said Celo at the BPI sample urban garden. The sample garden is a 250 square meter lot within the DA compound at Guisad Valley that is now planted with at least 20 plants either a leafy vegetable, spice and herbs and climbing vegetables like upo, patola and squash, to name some, said agricultural engineer Jason Palaylay.
The sample garden also has an aquaponic, where “salad” vegetables like romaine, cabbage and the like are planted on small pots, lodged on PVC pipes and its water coming from a small pond beside that is home to tilapia and bunong (ocellated dragonet). A regulated pump is also installed that automatically turns on four times a day and bring water to the PVC pipes. It automatically switches at 10 AM, 11 AM, 1PM and 2PM and shuts off automatically every 30 minutes, explained Palaylay.
The project is the continuation of the Urban Agriculture program of the DA – Cordillera and the city of Baguio that made more manifest during the enhanced community quarantine where the latter even held a contest for survival gardening. Celo said that it was Dr. Brigit Piok who suggested the four barangays as pilot.
PML