By By Vina Medenilla
In Isabela City, Basilan, the Office of the City Agriculturist is strengthening its program in backyard gardening by giving away seeds and seedlings to different barangays to help residents start their own backyard gardens at home amid the COVID-19 threat.
A social media post by the City’s Agriculturist Office mentioned that backyard gardening is a crucial source of food and nutrition at the household level. This gives every household security and convenience and only requires low capital input and simple technology. This gardening approach is a small-scale production system that can supply different crops to the household’s members.
The Office of the City Agriculturist has already distributed 728 assorted vegetable seed packs to 586 households in different barangays that are all registered members of 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), a program by the national government that provides cash grants to poor families in the country.
These are some of the seeds that were given to people for backyard gardening.
Aside from distributing seeds, they also give away over 1,500 vegetable seedlings a week as part of the household level food security program.
Seedlings take one to two weeks to be ready for distribution while tomato and other seedlings take three to four weeks.
In Barangay Binuangan, more than 400 ready-to-plant seedlings intended for backyard gardening are divided by the barangay officials for distribution among their constituents. There will be next batches of seedlings that will be part of the weekly distribution in selected barangays of Isabela City. In Barangay East Side, they are also giving away over a thousand free vegetable ready-to-plant seedlings that can be claimed to their barangay captain.
Over 400 ready-to-plant seedlings that are given to the residents of Barangay Binuangan.
They have scheduled dates for the distribution of seeds and seedlings per barangay. If interested, you may also get free assorted seeds at the Office of the City Agriculturist in City Hall.
Photos from Agri Isabela.
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