Legazpi City—The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Bicol region is taking a proactive step by establishing a vegetable garden in its office grounds, adopting the ‘Buhay sa Gulay’, an urban vegetable farming program initiated by DAR Secretary Brother John Castriciones, which is now being implemented in towns and cities across the country.
“The art and science of growing one’s own food have been gradually lost among government workers and agencies. We at DAR can carry the social influence needed to promote it once again, especially during this pandemic,” said DAR Bicol Regional Director Rodrigo Realubit.
He said the project aims to produce approximately 3,000 kilograms of various leafy greens regularly, which will be sold to DAR regional office employees, walk-in clients, and passers-by. Its accumulated income will serve as a source of funding to support some of the employees’ financial needs.
The regional office, according to Realubit, will provide growing space around the agency’s premises in Bgy. Gogon and at the CARP Development Center (CDC) compound in Bgy. Rawis. Garden tools, facilities, and equipment will be provided to get the garden started.
“We will convert every unused corner of our premises into productive greeneries. In doing this, we hope to influence other people and the community around us into planting vegetables,” he said.
On May 21, 20 regional office employees completed a one-day hands-on and theoretical training on good practices for organic vegetable growing. Agriculturist Francisco Obina of the Albay Provincial Agriculture Office (APAO) at the DAR Regional Office in Legazpi City conducted the training.
“We are taking advantage of this year’s summer season by offering gardening basic training to our employees so they can begin planting and harvesting their bounty at work or even at their own homes,” Realubit said.
DAR Regional chief for support services Lerma Dino stated that training is not the project’s end goal, and that she hopes it will be sustained and continued even beyond this year.
According to Dino, the plan is to adopt container or vertical gardening technologies using plastic bottles or scrap materials at the regional office compound because of limited space. Vegetable plots will be prepared at the CDC compound by incorporating raised bed designs in growing vegetables and sacrificing a portion of the lawn.
“Gardening and maintenance tasks will be done entirely by employees according to their own schedules. They are required to work their own plots or areas–planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting–at least once a week during the growing season, and they must also spend at least 1 or 2 hours a week to help maintain and keep the garden beds weed-free, as well as taking the proper care of the garden tools and facilities.”
Dino said the office has set aside Php 57,000 for the preparation, start-up, and implementation phases, including the procurement of gardening facilities and tools on-site, from the nursery, carbonizer, vegetable crates, seed storage to fertilizer storage, water containers, bags, and terracotta pots.
“We will utilize scrap and recyclable materials still within the office whenever possible to save on expenses,” she added.
“There’s a lot of money that can be taken out from this project that we will have to establish. All we need to do is to make it as productive as possible,” said Dino.
Earlier, the DAR in Camarines Sur launched their urban vegetable gardening projects that have now begun to bear fruit. The gardens occupy a 2,000-square meter portion of a football field inside the Naga City’s Holy Rosary Minor Seminary and a 2,000-square meter of idle land near the Barangay Hall of Bgy. Dalipay in Milaor town.