THE Mabalacat City government has launched a vegetable livelihood program in a bid to implement the Department of the Interior and Local Government to implement the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.

City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo led the launching of the livelihood program in Barangay Sapang Biabas along with Councilor Jerry Magsino, Barangay Chairman Soraida Cabuang and City Agriculturist Lourdes Balatibat.

“I envision a self-reliant and (food) sufficient Mabalacat,” Garbo said during the launch of the project.

The project promotes community gardening for vegetable using innovative techniques and recycled materials. Its objective is to augment income and serve as an additional food source for residents.

The mayor vowed full support for revitalized agribusiness in the city as he rallied on Mabalaqueños to be planters, harvesters, and traders of agricultural products.

To ensure proper implementation of the program, planting techniques, marketing, and cooperative organization seminars were conducted for the seed recipients. The local government, together with the provincial agriculture office, will also conduct regular monitoring to provide the necessary assistance for the program’s continued success.

With the advent of many agrarian innovations, Garbo’s administration aspires to invest in the farmers’ industriousness and diligence, linked with new technology being introduced by experts.

The directive, Garbo said, is in compliance with the National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB) resolution under Republic Act 10068, also known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.

Last July 17, the NOAB, through said resolution, recommended that the DILG and the LGUs, through the Gulayan sa Barangay Program, establish organic gardens based on the provisions of the Philippine National Standards for Organic Agriculture.