17 February 2021
TAGUIG CITY - As the prices of both vegetable and meat products increase, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Isidro Lapeña reminds residents of urban communities to try embracing urban farming.

He said that Filipinos need to realize that growing their own food is still the best remedy to sustain food security in the country.

Lapeña also assured that TESDA has always been ready to teach the modern and proper way of planting.

"We all know that as we face this pandemic, we are prone to food shortages. That's why we, in TESDA, listed agriculture as one of our top priorities. In fact, our training institutions were already directed last year to prioritize the agri-sector in allocating budget for their skills training. We have proven that both big and small spaces can be utilized to grow our own food,” he said.

The TESDA Chief, who is a proud farmer himself, signed a memorandum last May 2019 directing all TESDA training centers to establish their own mini-organic farms as models on encouraging the community to grow their own food.

In fact, to conclude the week-long celebration of TESDA's 26th Anniversary in August last year, TESDA-National Capital Region (NCR) launched “Gulayan ng Bayan, Bagong Pag-asa sa Gitna ng Pandemya” Program, an urban community agriculture project for the residents of Sitio San Roque, Bagong Pag-asa Village in Quezon City, to ensure the availability and accessibility of the community to safe and fresh food within their own backyards.

TESDA Quezon City Lingkod Bayan Skills Development Center (QCLBSDC) also showcased their planted vegetables during their harvest earlier this month.

In a training on organic farming launched October 19 last year by TESDA-PaMaMaRiSan, a total of 100 trainees from Barangay Fortune, Marikina City were taught how to grow lettuce, eggplant, ampalaya, patola, and kalabasa in their own backyard.

TESDA also allotted 100 scholarship slots for out-of-school-youth in the City of Manila through a partnership with OMA Farm School under the Urban Community Agriculture Project wherein 86 individuals have already finished their training.

Meanwhile, TESDA regional offices nationwide continue to propagate vegetables in their respective mini-organic farms with harvests being shared with nearby communities.

Moreover, there are nine short courses available under the agriculture sector in the TESDA Online Program that can be accessed through www.e-tesda.gov.ph and the TESDA App. ###

 


The Marikina Urban Agriculture Project


The Urban Community Agriculture Project located in Sitio San Roque, Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City


The TESDA Quezon City Lingkod Bayan Skills Development Center Mini-organic garden