THE Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-Davao) has been distributing lowland vegetable seeds to encourage the public to grow their own food while at home due to the community quarantine.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 1, the agriculture department through the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) in partnership with Davao City Agriculture Office (CAO) launched the Stay at Home, Magtanom! initiative.

The agency is giving out seeds of ampalaya (bitter gourd), okra (ladies’ fingers), eggplant, tomato, pechay (snow cabbage), pole sitao (string beans), calabasa (squash), and kangkong (swamp cabbage) for free.

DA-Davao information officer Noel Provido said the seeds are initially intended to be distributed for the Gulayan sa Barangays and Gulayan sa Eskwelahan programs or the community or school garden supposedly slated for April or May this year.

But since the programs were temporarily suspended, the DA instead urged the public to plant vegetables through container gardening.

“Once we grow our own food, not necessarily all food basta kanang basic lang, maka-help siya sa household. Nourishment pud siya sa ilang lawas kay sure pa sila nga chemical-free kay sila man nag tanom (Growing some of their food would help the household and they will be sure that they are eating healthy and chemical-free food),” he said.

He said this would also open up opportunities for communities to scale up the initiatives for sustainable food production either for the market or for their own consumption.

“Once man gud nga we were able to encourage our consumers to grow their own food, then they could, on a higher scale, pwede nga buhaton nila as a community like one barangay or subdivision or village (They could put up a community garden in their barangays, subdivisions, or villages),” he said.

“Kung mudaghan na ang [produce] per household, they can consolidate kaning ilang mga produce and then pwede nila ma-market. We can help them in marketing kung daghan na ilang maproduce but in the meantime pwede ra pud for their own [consumption] (If they will be able to produce more vegetables, they can consolidate it and sell it. For the meantime, they can produce for their own consumption),” he added.

Provido also bared that since the time they announced their program, they have received around a hundred inquiries not just in the region but in other parts of the country.

Aside from Davao City’s Stay at Home, Magtanom!, the provinces of Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro also launched their localized version of the DA’s program titled Puyo Balay, Tanum Gulay and Gulay is Life, respectively.

“I hope nga pagmawala na ang Covid-19 (novel coronavirus), dili mawala ang enthusiasm sa mga tao nga magtanom (I hope that people will continue to plant even after the health crisis),” he said.

The seeds can be claimed from resident’s respective Provincial or City Agricultural Offices; however, he reminded them to follow the safety protocols like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing.