The Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Office 3 (DAR RFO 3) launched on Friday the “Buhay sa Gulay” project here in an effort to promote the importance of urban farming and help contribute to food security.

In partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 3, through the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), the project aims to help urban farmers produce various vegetables that could serve as an additional source of income.

DAR 3 focal person Eloy Palomo said it uses idle land as an urban vegetable farming site.

Palomo said the project would empower 10 to 20 urban dwellers, as well as members of the agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO) and other farmer organizations, to have an alternative source of income through production and selling of fresh vegetables.

“Ang kahulugan ng ‘Buhay sa Gulay’ ay upang mabigyan ng buhay o pangkabuhayan ang mga urban dwellers dito lalo na ngayon sa panahon ng pandemya. Ito rin ay maaring maging tugon sa makabagong pamumuhay o new normal. (The meaning of Buhay Gulay is to give life or source of livelihood to the urban dwellers here, especially in this time of the pandemic.This might also be a response to new normal),” he said in an official social media post.

Regional HVCDP focal person Engineer AB Pangilinan David said they saw the importance of the project especially during the pandemic wherein there is a need to make idle lots productive by planting different kinds of vegetables.

“Kaya naman ang DA, through HVCDP, ay sinuportahan at pinondohan ang programang ito sa tulong ng ating mga private partners like Harbest at Known You para makatulong sa ating mga mamamayan na nagnanais na i-adapt ang ipapakitang pamamaraan ng pagtatanim ng gulay dito sa mahigit 2,500 metro kwadradong sukat na ating proyekto. (That is why the DA, through HVCDP, supported and funded the program with the help of our private partners like Harbest and Known-You so that we could help our citizens who wish to adopt the ways of planting vegetables that we are going to demonstrate here in the more 2,500-square-meter lot for our project),” David said.

The Harbest Agribusiness Corporation and Known-You Seed Company are partners of the DA RFO 3 and DAR 3 in providing a different variety of vegetable seedlings and other farm supplies that could help in the implementation of the project.

“Kami po ay handang sumuporta sa proyektong ito mula sa land preparation hanggang sa harvest festival po na gaganapin sa dulo ng proyektong ito. (We are ready to support this project from land preparation up to the harvest festival that will be held at the end of this project),” said Queenaliza Velasco, regional marketing director of the Harbest Agribusiness Corporation.

The first Buhay sa Gulay program in the region was launched in Barangay San Francisco in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija last August 13.

The urban farming project was launched last November in Tondo, Manila.

It was replicated by the cities of Quezon and Caloocan in the National Capital Region.

Seeing the success of Buhay sa Gulay project, other urban areas nationwide followed suit, including the provinces of Palawan, Tacloban, Oriental Mindoro, Davao, and Cebu, among others. (PNA)