Blessings aren’t always material things. One of the best blessings is simple joy.
Who could have thought that a simple, yet meaningful interest will become an initial step towards achieving big accomplishment? It all started with the seeds in the small plastic pots and black, mini-plastic bags of Ms. Ana Maria B. Rosaldo, OIC-Nutrition Program Coordinator of the NNC-Region III. A good starter of a regional contest on vegetable gardening in the Regional Government Center? Yes, with her strong will and patience to nurture various seeds into seedlings, Ma’am Leeza, as she is fondly called by her colleagues and friends was able to produce about 350 seedlings of “kamatis”, “petsay”, “okra” and upland “kangkong” and distributed these seedlings as “token” of appreciation to employees of national government agencies who attended the 2018 Nutrition Month (NM) launching activity.
With these ample seeds and seedlings that were grown for barely two months, she was able to drive the interest of the members of the Regional Nutrition Committee of Central Luzon to join the contest which was conceptualized by the NNC-Region III, in line with the NM celebration.
On 3 July 2018, the NNC-Region III launched the 44th Nutrition Month celebration with the theme “Ugaliing magtanim, Sapat na nutrisyon aanihin” at the NEDA Regional Office III Conference Room, Regional Government Center, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The NM launching activity was attended by 145 participants and included a discussion of the Mechanics of the “Gulayan sa Aming Tanggapan” (GAT) Contest. Since animal raising as part of the food garden cannot be established in the government offices, the contest became limited only to planting of vegetables. Inspired by the Edible Landscaping Contest of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit III (DA-RFU III). NNC-Region III co-sponsored the GAT contest with the DA-RFU III. The contest aims to encourage the establishment of vegetable gardens inside the government office/workplaces and to mobilize their respective staff as stakeholders that can provide a fostering environment for sustainable food gardens.
All member-agencies of the Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) of Central Luzon and non-member agencies within the regional government center were encouraged to join the GAT contest. The contest entry forms which can be downloaded from the NNC-R3 website included a note for those who wish to join the contest to like and share NNC-R3’s fanpage.
The mechanics of the contest are as follows: 1) Form a group of 6-10 staff per office/agency with endorsement of the Head of Office and/or Division Chief; 2) Invite at least 10 or more of their co-employees to also like and share NNC-R3’s fanpage; 3) Send photo of the plot with a maximum floor area of 2 sq.m. X 10 sq.m to be planted with “pinakbet”, “sinigang” and “tinola” combination of crops to NNC-R3 email, and 4) established “gulayan” will be visited by 3 members of the board of judges four times during the contest period.
The Department of Science and Technology-Regional Office III (DOST-RO III) was the first agency to signify their interest to join the contest. During the ceremonial turn-over during the 2018 NM Launch, DOST-RO III received a set of planting materials consisting of a grab hoe, shovel and seedlings tray, and packets of vegetable seeds courtesy of DA-RFU III and some seedlings of “petsay”, “kamatis” and “okra” from OIC-NPC Rosaldo. Other participants were also given seeds/seedlings as take home for them to plant and grow.
The launching was witnessed by Regional Nutrition Committee member-agencies, LGUs, regional nutrition associations: 1) Central Luzon Association of the Barangay Nutrition Scholars, Inc. (CLABI); 2) Central Luzon Association of Nutrition Action Officers (CLANAO); 3) Association of the Central Luzon District and City Nutrition Program Coordinators (ACL-DCNPCs) and 4) Central Luzon Advocates and Regional Nutrition Information Network (CLARINET). The 2018 NM launching was graced by OIC-Regional Director Agustin C. Mendoza of NEDA-RO III, who gave his welcome remarks; Assistant Regional Director Ruben S. Siapno of DOH-Center for Health Development-Region III who read the message of Regional Director and RNC Chair, Dr. Cesar C. Cassion, and Regional Director William L. Beltran of PIA-Region III, who was instrumental in providing media coverage of the event.
Three-member board of judges came from the DA-RFU III, Philippine Information Agency-Region III and NNC-R3 and scheduled a four-day visit, once a month during the contest run from 20 July to 28 November 2018. The criteria for judging are as follow: a) Climate smart, 35%; b) Crop combination and/or variety, 30%; c) Landscape design, 10%; and d) Overall impact, 25%.
Awarding of prizes to winners was held during the 2018 Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony on 5 December 2018. And the winners… NFA-Pampanga Office - planted more crops for the “tinola”, “pinakbet” and “sinigang”, and with the highest yield (Grand Prize of Php10,000); Cooperative Development Authority-Regional Office III (2nd Place, Php 7,000), who converted the sandy and “mabatong lupa” into a productive vegetable garden ; DSWD-Regional Field Office III (3rd Place, Php5,000), manned with tender-loving care of DSWD Utility Guys; DOST-RO III and NEDA-RO III (Php1,000 each). Each of the 5 participating agencies were also given 2 units of backpack sprayer, courtesy of the DA-RFU III.
Again, blessings aren’t always material things. “One of the best blessings is simple joy, the joy in serving God and His people no matter what it takes”. Kudos to Ma’am Leeza’s painstaking efforts.
Author:
ANGELITA M. PASOS
Nutrition Officer III
