Food security
LIKE in the past, food security remains to be one of the major concerns of President Marcos.
Doubtless, the more than 110 million Filipinos welcomed this.
Some quarters even fear that the El Nino weather phenomenon now raging in the Philippines, may make it hard for the government to achieve food security.
But others believe that the key to attaining food security is the successful implementation of the Marcos administration’s “Gulayan sa Barangay Program.”
A project of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), it calls for the establishment of “Community Gardens” throughout the country.
In his “Bagong Pilipinas” campaign, Marcos said: “Sa mga barangay, ang kaayusan at kalinisan ay gawin nating tuloy-tuloy. Ang bawat bakanteng lote…ay gawing halamanan at gulayan.”
Before President Marcos came into power in 2022, there were only 2,000 “Community Gardens” in the country, according to DILG Undersecretary Chito Valmocina.
Today, there are now 27,000 “Community Gardens” under the auspices of barangay officials and employees.
Also involved in the “Gulayan sa Barangay” program are the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Certainly, the people “now realize” the importance of setting up “Community Gardens” as the government pursues its multi-pronged food security programs.
