Saturday, March 15, 2008 PAO revives herbal medicine project
THE province's Solid and Watershed Management Division (SWMD) is now searching for 14 species of plant materials recommended and approved by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (Bfad0).
SWMD Chief Edwin Valencia together with his staff are gathering species of the herbal plants while preparing garden lots where the herbs will be planted and reproduced.
This developed after Governor Emilio C. Macias II ordered the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) to revive the Provincial Herbal Medicine Project, said PAO Communication Officer Oliver Lemence in a statement.
According to Lemence, the project will be implemented in the 96 Barangay Agricultural Development Centers (Bads) in the province.
Provincial Agriculturist Gregorio Paltinca said the resumption of the herbal gardening program should be done using organic fertilizer and organic-based technology to produce organically grown herbal medicine in the countryside.
It can be recalled that the Provincial Herbal Medicine Project was first implemented from 1988 to 1998 as one of the community-based health projects of the provincial government during the first three terms of then and now incumbent Macias.
Medicinal plants and herbs can be applied as treatment for minor ailment and common diseases and as first aid treatment for simple fractures, sprains and cramps.
Recently, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo underscored the need to invest in the people through better healthcare, improved social services and a more productive, modern and profitable agricultural sector, as she underscored the importance of an open and transparent economy, 'free from corruption.''
The President's statement came in the heels of the P1.227-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2008, which the President signed into law recently.
In her message before the signing ceremony, the President said the 2008 appropriations law "reflects our values and policy priorities for investing in the people." (Press release)
