2 schools in Sibugay bag Best Garden awards

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) through its “Gulayan sa Paaralan” program has chosen two schools in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay as “Best Garden” awardees.

The awardees are the elementary school of Barangay Aguinaldo, Naga town and the national high school of Titay town, both received a cash award of P35,000 each.

The Gulayan sa Paaralan is being implemented by the DA through its High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) in partnership with the Department of Education.

The Gulayan sa Paaralan is also implemented in coordination with Bureau of Plant Industry, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health through its National Nutrition Council and local government units in order to mitigate hunger and malnutrition in rural areas by ensuring fresh vegetables in every households.

HVCDP Report Officer Hannibal Bayo-ang said the two schools were among the 498 elementary and secondary schools that participated in the competition.

Bayo-ang said the top 15 schools in the elementary and secondary levels received P5,000 each.

The criteria for the judging include production management, nutrition impact, community and parents’ participation, and innovation.

The Gulayan sa Paaralan program aims to promote self-help food production activities and values (appreciation of agriculture as a life support system) among children, Bayo-ang said.

The program also intends to promote vegetable production through natural or organic farming; maintain school garden as source of vegetables to supply feeding programs; and, to showcase a small-scale food production model in schools for the households and communities to replicate purposely to promote family food security. (Bong Garcia)