Cotabato City. The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE) launched the Kayod ka Bangsamoro or ‘KKB’ last April 21, 2020, which was created during the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the availability and supply of food. The KKB is a livelihood component of the Integrated Bangsamoro Greening Program (IBGP). BARMM Senior Minister and concurrent MENRE Minister Abdulraof A. Macacua, supported the program with the issuance of memorandum on massive food production on forest areas suitable for vegetable gardening and short-term cash crop production.
The Integrated Bangsamoro Greening Program aims to ensure a self-reliant and food-secure region through ‘Kayod ka Bangsamoro’. It encourages massive food production activities such as short-term cash crop and vegetable gardening, small-scale orchard or fruit-bearing trees establishment, and forage planting for livestock. And MENRE encourages establishing ‘survival gardens’ in the backyards of their homes to supplement their family’s source of food. This intervention intends to augment food production and secure good nutrition of every Moro family amidst the pandemic in line with the call of the national government through National Nutrition Council and the Task Force Zero Hunger Tutok Kainan.
In July 29, 2020, MENRE, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform, Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority and World Food Programme signed a memorandum to scale-up and expand livelihood opportunities for the partners of the KKB through the IBGP. MENRE established a 1-hectare vegetable model at 3 project sites in Lanao del sur and 5 in Maguindanao.
600 MILF-BIAF combatants were contracted by the Bangsamoro Government as Palaw Rangers or ‘Bantay Gubat” to aid in the establishment and sustainability of the survival gardens to ensure productivity and output efficiency. 1000 households from the combatant partners of KKB have also been mobilized within the convergence pilot areas. They were trained on forest fire management and pest diseases prevention within the forestlands, trained on municipal nursery establishment, and oriented on the apprehension, detection, and documentation of illegal logging activities.
A total of 12.5 hectares of land area have been surveyed, mapped, and assessed for vegetable gardening. 10 tree nursery areas have also been established.939,597 agroforestry seedlings were produced for tree growing and 400,547 seedlings were out planted.
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Content credits to MENRE Official Facebook page
