Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija – Four Philippine local governments shared their strategies and programs to address challenges in creating sustainable food systems during the CITYFOOD Network Workshop on Innovative Urban Food Governance held 14 November. Approximately 40 participants representing local and national government, academe, and research institutions attended the event.
The CITYFOOD Network, led by ICLEI and RUAF Foundation, is a collective that aims to accelerate local and regional action on sustainable and resilient city-region food governance through the integration of training, policy guidance, and technical assistance. Members of the CityFOOD Network in the Philippines which participated in the workshop included the cities of Catbalogan, Cauayan, and Muñoz; and the municipality of Dumangas.
The workshop served as a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning among the local governments that attended the activity.
Mr. Achimedes Fabillar, Principal of the Catbalogan City Agro-Industrial School (CCAIS), talked about how the city established CCAIS as a way to encourage the youth to take up a career in agriculture and to limit dropout rates. CCAIS offers a Senior High School Technical-Vocational Livelihood track focused on agriculture and animal production. Every year, two students from each barangay are chosen as scholars and are sent to CCAIS. After graduation, the students are provided with a seed capital so they can invest or start their own agri-business.
“The perception must be changed for agriculture as a lowly and dirty job. This is due to the fact that today’s generation or sometimes even the parents preferred for the young ones to pursue other field like medicine, engineering, among others,” said Mr. Fabillar. He also noted that the average age of farmers in the Philippines is 57; the younger generation has to be encouraged to take up a career in agriculture to ensure food production in the country.
On the other hand, Mr. Ricky Dador of Dumangas talked about their Climate Field School (CFS) and how it leverages climate information and forecast application to ensure optimal production and harvest for the farmers in the municipality. CFS is designed to help farmers address climate-related risk by giving them access to weather and climate information that enables them to plan agricultural activities and mitigate the damages caused by forecasted disasters.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mary Jane Yadao and Atty. Reina Santos from the City Nutrition Office of Cauayan shared their self-reliant food bank, replenished through donations and sponsorships of the city’s constituents. Contents of the food bank are routinely distributed to poor households, specifically beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program – the government’s flagship anti-poverty program.
This initiative is a Hall of Fame Awardee by the National Nutrition Council of the Philippines’ Department of Health. The local government of Cauayan is exploring the provision of tax incentives to donor establishments as a way to encourage more business owners to support the food bank.
This garden situated next to a barangay office is planted with 80% vegetables. Produce harvested from this are distributed to the community.
As the workshop’s host, the Science City of Muñoz featured its “Bakuran Ko, Gulayan Ko” (My Backyard, My Garden). Encouraging citizens to have a food bank in their own home, Mr. Jerry Rigos, City Agriculturist explained that this activity promotes backyard vegetable production in schools, households, and barangay in Muñoz. The activity is coupled with an awareness-raising campaign that explains the value of producing one’s own supply of fresh and organic vegetables. The workshop culminated with a visit to three “Bakuran Ko, Gulayan Ko” sites situated in a household, a barangay office, and a school showcasing the program’s applicability to different settings.
Participants agreed that political will and stakeholder participation are important drivers of programs that aim to promote sustainable food production and governance systems.
