Philippines: Addressing National Capital Region’s food security one garden at a time

According to Former Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar, urban farms can give vulnerable populations a reliable and practical supply of nutritious food.

By Gelaine Louise Gutierrez
Philippine Information Agency
Sept 6, 2022

Excerpt:

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness of the flaws in our food systems and social inequalities causing extreme food insecurity and continued growth in world hunger.

Despite a number of consistent economic gains, the Philippines however, still experiences some degree of social, gender, and economic inequalities. Malnutrition and hunger continue to exist in some areas and have even worsened recently, based on a World Food Programme study.

To effectively address this, one of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s socioeconomic agenda during his term involves ensuring that food security is felt by every Filipino family.

Food produced in rural areas greatly contribute in maintaining the availability of food in urban areas, such as Metro Manila. Amid the limitation of movement of commodities, services, and people due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, it was difficult to supply the food needs of about 13 million people in Metro Manila. Due to supply chain disruptions, increased food prices threatened urban areas with limited agricultural land.

According to Former Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar, urban farms can give vulnerable populations a reliable and practical supply of nutritious food. It can also help Local Government Units (LGUs) reduce the impact of any disruptions throughout the food value chain.

Read the complete article here.