Food availability and accessibility are challenges often experienced in times of crisis or emergency in any country.
Philippines is currently facing a pandemic issue and the possible widespread of 2019 Novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in the country. As a result President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 929 which imposed an Enhanced Community Quarantine throughout the island of Luzon which resulted to mandatory home quarantine for everyone. Government and private offices are under work from home arrangements or operating with skeletal workforces, except to identified frontliners. This affected mostly workers who are dependent on a per day income and it also poses strong challenge to Local Government Units to strategize efforts and programs to sustain the daily needs of its constituents specially families that belong to marginalized and indigent sector.
Hence, with this challenge, the Local Government Unit of Luna, Isabela is on its way to strengthen its annual program on Gulayan sa Bakuran at Komunidad to ensure food availability and accessibility among the households in the municipality.
In an interview with Mr. Nestor Labog, Municipal Agriculturist and member of MNC Luna, Isabela, he emphasized that the Gulayan sa Bakuran is an annual project of the municipality with annual budget of Php 200,00.00 to ensure that all households practice vegetable and community gardening to contribute to food security in the municipality.
In addition, due to the strict implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Mr. Labbog taught of a strategy by also providing seeds and seedlings in addition to the food packs distributed to the households. “ Napag-isipan ng LGU Luna na dahil sa umiiral na enhanced community quarantine, dapat na hikayatin pa lalo ang mga kapwa ko mamamayan na magtanim ng kani kanilang gulay sa bakuran upang sa gayon ay may mapagkukunan ng ligtas, malinis at masustansyang pagkain sa panahong ito,” as he emphasized the objectives of the said distribution.
“ Dahil sa patuloy na pamamahagi ng seeds at seedlings ma sigurado natin nayung mga na harvest mula nung una kaming nag bigay ay may kapalit agad lalo na sa mahirap na panahong ito. Magiging augmentation ito sa pinamamahagi rin na relief goods ng aming LGU,” Mr. Labog added.
The seeds and seedlings were grown from the community green house provided by the Department of Agriculture Field Office 02 to ensure the continuous provision of seeds and seedlings to the households.
“Sa ngayon namimigay ang aming ahensya ng 3 ampalaya, 10 sitaw , patola at okra at 3 kalabasa (packs of seeds),” with these packs, Mr. Labog assures that there will be no reason for a household for not having vegetables in their daily meal.
Truly, the LNC Luna, Isabela live with the 2018 Nutrition Month theme, “ Ugaliing magtanim, sapat na nutrisyon aanihin,” and it households will reap nutritious and available vegetables from their own backyard.###(JNLB-NNCR02)
