“LGUs should replicate Baguio’s survival garden!”

June 8, 2020 Community Billboard

Carlo Asuncion, A Manila-based economic expert hinted Baguio City’s “survival gardens” program is amongst the “best practices” of top local government units.
During a Zoom video conference with local officials at City Hall, June 2, he said the program should be replicated throughout the country.
It could be remembered, the national government mid- March, imposed Enhanced
Community Quarantine (ECQ) lasting 2-months to arrest the spread of the Corona Virus 2019 (COVID-19).
It forced locals to stay home and businesses to cease operations.
The ECQ practically squeezed every pantry dry; drained wallets empty; and, made food sources scarce.
To address food shortage, the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) started distributing seeds to different barangays around that time.
It sparked “bayanihan” spirit among residents and barangay officials, who propagated vegetables on public lands, private gardens and containers.
CVAO chief Dr. Brigit Piok reported, almost all of the city’s 128-barangays benefited from the program.
Asuncion meantime said, “Self-sufficiency, especially when it comes to food security, is paramount right now”.
“Whatever government can do to [establish food security] is welcome [development],” he added.
He advised, those who have extra can even barter their produce for other goods or
services; or, sell online for extra-income.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong bared, Asuncion is a friend who volunteered to assist local managers in devising ways on how to resuscitate local commerce, badly hit by imposition of quarantine measures.
The expert is a top official in an international banking institution. He originally hails from Baguio.
Funding for the survival gardens program was pooled from the CVAO budget; the city’s COVID-19 reserves; and, budget from the Department of Agriculture.
The seeds distributed by CVAO include pechay, zucchini, beans, eggplant, arugula, and other vegetables endemic to the Cordillera region.
Relatedly, the CVAO launched a “survival garden contest”, May, to encourage barangays and families to carry on with the urban gardens they started during the ECQ.
Survival gardens shall be included in the annual search for the city’s best performing barangays.
Gaby Keith/Photo by Neil Clark Ongchangco