A vacant lot abandoned by an Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) group in Oriental Mindoro is being transformed into a vegetable garden under the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) start-up farming project.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the province have started cultivating the vegetable garden at a vacant lot owned by the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan (AVC) in Barangay Lalud, the agency said on Monday, June 28.

According to DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Rogelio Madarcos, the AVC lot measures 5,000 square meters with a potential expansion area of another 4,000 square meters.

“It has been idle for a couple of years after the 'Katutubong Mangyan,' an IP group in Oriental Mindoro, abandoned the area which they used to plant vegetables through the help of the Diocesan Social Action Center of the AVC,” Madarcos said.

The agrarian officer said it is the first "Buhay sa Gulay" project to be carried out by the Agrarian department in the entire Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan (Mimaropa) region.

The “Buhay sa Gulay” project is a self-help start-up livelihood project where concerned government agencies and organizations converge, share resources, and offer opportunities to enable the urban farmers to produce and eat fresh healthy vegetables and provide them with additional sources of income.

Meanwhile, the DAR signed on June 22 a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Mindoro Provincial Office and Mary Help of Christians School (MHCS) Inc. to officially start the project. It is slated for launch in the first week of July.

Madarcos said that under the MOU, the MHCS shall provide trainings on vegetable farming to the program beneficiaries, which include out-of-school youth and women members of 4Ps in barangay Lalud and selected ARBs of Yabong Kabuhayan ng Gutad (YAKAG) and Guinobatan Agrarian Reform Community Cooperative (GARCCO).

“After the participants have completed their training, another training will be given to them, this time on poultry production to complement the garden project where chicken dung shall be used in the production of vermicast for organic fertilizer,” Madarcos said.

Sister Ailyn Cayanan, the technical director of Mary Help of Christians School (Mindoro) Inc., said that each graduating participant will receive a certificate from TESDA.

“This will be granted to graduates in a form of scholarship where everyone will receive an allowance and a starter kit from TESDA,” Cayanan said.

The water system and organic fertilizer at the start of the project shall be provided by the local government unit.

For its part, the Dar will facilitate the land preparation with YAKAG farmers and urban dwellers of barangay Lalud. It will also provide gardening tools and vegetable seeds for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables.