In partnership with the Local Government Units particularly the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist, the Agricultural Training Institute through its Regional Training Center in the Cordillera Administrative Region intensifies its “Capability Building in Support to Community Garden Establishment on Urban Agriculture: Container gardening with provision of starter kits” with 13 batches, almost half of its targeted 30 batches now done with a total of Three Hundred Twenty-Eight (328) participant-recipients covering various parts of Bauko, Tadian, of Mt. Province and Conner, Apayao from March 20 to April 14, 2023.
The training was a one-day activity focusing on urban agriculture. Topics discussed were focused on the benefits of Urban Agriculture, container gardening, square-foot gardening, making your own compost fertilizer, organic concoctions, Insecticidal, and Fungicidal plants. With the rapid urbanization rate, where there is not much space or land to grow crops - container gardening is a viable alternative, simple and practical way of growing fruit, herbs, spices and vegetable cultivation. In addition, container gardening is a fantastic way to grow vegetables, especially when you lack yard space and helps control pests and overcome soil issues, enabling the availability of home-grown fresh produce without a yard.
The training was in consonant with the Administrative Order No. 03, series of 2022, “creation of the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program (NUPAP), a banner program of the Department of Agriculture (DA)”, it is a policy direction of the DA to increase food production and lessen the logistics cost in order to soften the impact of global concerns like food security, climate change and the rising costs of fuel and other inputs. It aimed to promote urban and peri-urban agriculture and other emerging agriculture practices through the Plant, Plant, Plant Program.
The training was also in support of the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program, ATI conducts series of webinar and face to face on Urban Agriculture to be able to produce food in limited spaces, provide alternative source of livelihood and aid in solid waste management.
