The Muntinlupa City government is boosting its urban gardening program with the help of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
About 500 edible landscaping kits were donated by the DA-Agricultural Research through the UPLB Edible Landscaping Team to the city government for its “Gulayan sa Muntinlupa” program.
Edible landscaping is the growing of organic vegetables, fruits, herbs, and medicinal plants in landscaping. The plants are used both for aesthetic value as well as consumption.
Mayor Jaime Fresnedi received the donation during a ceremonial turn-over on June 22 together with Edible Landscaping UPLB Technical Officer Prof. Ryan Tayobong, research assistants John Bryan Lawas and Melanie Ilang-Ilang, DA-Extension Service Office (DA-ESO) chief Malou Lobo and City Administrator Allan Cachuela.
He thanked the DA and UPLB for the donation and hoped that the partnership would pave the way for more urban agriculture projects in the city.
The DA and UPLB will also provide technical assistance to Muntinlupa for the development of the City Model Farm located at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Brgy. Tunasan.
Recently, the city government partnered with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the University of the Philippines Institute of Plant Breeding (UP-IPB) for the training of communities on hydroponics farming technology.
This is in line with the aim of the city to revive urban agriculture and urban farming to ensure food security amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The community of Doña Rosario Heights serves as the city’s Urban Model Farm while the farming site in Paradise Garden community is the city’s Communal Model Farm which is being managed by the 4P’s (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) beneficiaries.
DOST donated 200 S.N.A.P (Simple Nutrient Addition Program) Kit Solutions for Hydroponics to the city government, which were distributed to pilot communities.
DA-ESO is working together with 12 homeowners associations, three cooperatives and six youth organizations for the urban agriculture initiative. The extension service office conducts regular urban farming site visitations, online trainings and monitoring of communities to ensure the sustainability of the program. It launched the Balitang Agri, a series of educational shows demonstrating proper ways of planting vegetable crops and providing free seeds and seedlings to the public to further promote backyard farming.