|
Today is :
Archives (2001)
The gulayan at bulaklakan
project: creating greener pastures for urban dwellers
by Laarni C. Anenias
|
April-June
2001
|
Picture yourself going to the poorer areas of
Metro Manila, and instead of seeing garbage scattered around,
you see spans of lots planted with vegetables, the area glowing
with flowers. Imagine going there, and instead of seeing children
and adult alike scavenging through piles of garbage, seeing
them cultivating a robust garden. This is the vision of the
Gulayan at Bulaklakan Project (GBP): a component of the government's
Urban Agriculture Program.
GBP started in 1998 through the initiatives
of the Office of then First Lady Loi Ejercito. The project
aims to provide food and livelihood, and promote environmental
well-being and good health among the marginalized sector of
urban society. An interactive participation among schools,
communities, government units, and non-government organizations
(NGOs), the project is an excellent example of a comprehensive
development program.
The Office of the Presidential Assistant on
Food Security spearheaded the implementation of GBP. The Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority, Office of the First Lady, the
local government units, and several NGOs likewise help in
implementing this project.
The GBP organizers use the community-based approach
such that urban communities are informed and organized to
cultivate vacant public lots, transforming these into community
gardens. Communities are encouraged to plant vegetables, ornamental
plants, and other food crops that could help augment their
income. Schools with vacant plots, associations, cooperatives,
and parishes are likewise encouraged to join GBP.
Participants are encouraged to plant short season
vegetables such as tomato, eggplant, pechay, cabbage,
sweet pepper, hot pepper, bush sitao, okra, cucumber,
squash, ampalaya, upo, and kangkong.
Sampaguita cuttings were initially distributed
to the participants. Planting materials are given free during
the first planting. For succeeding plantings, however, participants
had to produce their own planting materials.
All Metro Manila cities and municipalities are
included in the project with Quezon City having many sites.
Selected areas in nearby provinces Quezon, Cavite, and Batangas
were likewise included.
A GBP monitoring and evaluation team regularly
conducts monitoring and evaluation to ensure the project's
sustainability.
As of December 2000, GBP has launched 30 vegetable
gardens, with a cumulative total area of 230,000 sqm, and
has made lives better for its 2,500 beneficiaries.
Hopefully, through its vision and initiatives,
GBP will continually make greener pastures out of our urban
cities, literally and figuratively. 
(Source: Dr. Virginia A. Duldulao, in her paper titled
Gulayan at Bulaklakan: A Component of the Government's Urban
Agriculture Program, presented during the National Conference-Workshop
on Urban Agricultural Systems in the Philippines, Bureau of
Soils and Water Management, Quezon City, 15-17 January 2001.
Dr. Duldulao is a former Director IV at the Office of the
Presidential Assistant on Food Security in Malacanang, Manila.
She is currently a Communication Specialist at the Bureau
of Agricultural Research.) More Articles:
Vol. 3 No. 2
April-June 2001
»»
CERDAF approves five addt'l national programs
»» IPB recommends
organic farming for vegetables
»» The
growing Philippine vegetable industry: obstacles and opportunities
»» Growing
vegetables without soil
»» MMSU
recommends off season tomato hybrids
»» Halamanan
sa BPI: Farming the City
»» Dump
that damping-off diseases
»» Grafting
effective in producing off- season tomato
»» 'It's
time you put some spice into your life'
»» A
Commodity Feature Cultivating the Aromatic Garlic
»»
Vegetable gardening at the rooftop?
»» National
Integrated RDE Agenda and Program for Vegetable
»» DA
launches AFP livelihood program
»» The
Gulayan at Bulaklakan Project: creating greener pastures for urban dwellers
[More
2001 Articles]
|
