IN THE middle of Cebu City’s concrete sprawl, small pockets of green are quietly thriving in the most unlikely places—from empty spaces beside roads to small corners at home. Plastic bottles dangle with sprouting kangkong, recycled containers brim with lettuce, and rooftops bloom with tomatoes, basil, and even alugbati.
For City Agriculturist Joelito Baclayon, these gardens are proof that food security doesn’t always start with hectares of farmland—it can begin on a balcony, a front yard, or even a kitchen corner.
This is true for Zosimo Putot and his group, who maintain the urban garden next to the South Road Properties (SRP) tunnel entrance.
Baclayon said the people working there are mostly government employees from the Department of Public Services.
They used to dispose of rotten vegetables from Carbon Market, but are now practicing backyard gardening.
The space where the urban garden is located was used to be a space occupied by informal settlers and garbage from the market.
“I was instructed by former mayor Michael Rama to clear the area from the informal settlers. In order to keep the space free from the informal settlers, I asked the mayor if I would be allowed to instead plant vegetables. That started this urban gardening,” Putot said in Cebuano.
The fertilizers were organic, coming from the waste collected from the Carbon Market. The water used is from a makeshift water impounding container that collects rain water, Putot said.
Putot said the garden is not just to improve the aesthetics of the area, but also to contribute to the community’s sustainability and environmental well-being.
A growing movement
Urban gardening has continued to flourish, especially in schools through the “Gulayan sa Paaralan” program, in barangay open spaces and at home.
Baclayon said Cebu City is intensifying its urban gardening program to promote food security, sustainability, and environmental balance.
In an interview on SunStar Web TV’s Beyond the Headlines, he said the city envisions “pockets of plants” in every household and community, from vegetables to flowers, to help address rising food prices and limited green spaces.
“The goal is for Cebu City to be a green city, where people not only have food on their table but also contribute to environmental balance,” Baclayon said.
He explained that urban gardening provides several benefits, including ensuring food availability, reducing household and city waste through composting, and promoting healthier diets among families, particularly children. It also instills values of discipline in food production and waste management.
In a city where soil is scarce and time is tight, Baclayon and his team are teaching residents to farm differently—using vertical gardens, edible landscapes, hydroponics, aeroponics, and even indoor setups lit by grow lights.
Innovation and partnerships
The City Agriculture Department has introduced the “gardenator,” a container-based system that doubles as a composter and self-sustaining food source.
“It’s practical, self-sustaining, and perfect for households with very limited land,” Baclayon said.
Composting kitchen waste not only provides organic fertilizer but also significantly reduces the volume of garbage dumped in the landfill, saving the City Government millions of pesos.
At the People’s Farm in South Road Properties, families can see these techniques in action, attend training, and even try planting their own crops in small government-provided plots.
Barangay-based sessions are also held weekly, with the city supplying seeds, soil mixtures, and compost.
Baclayon said two major programs, Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) and the Farmers Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), are helping fisherfolk and farmers cultivate not just food but also their future.
The KSK program, organized by the SM Foundation Inc., provides season-long training on urban gardening and crop production. Over 300 people have graduated, with many continuing production and becoming direct suppliers to SM.
The FEP, a collaboration between the Jollibee Foundation and the Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative, also offers season-long training. The City Government provides farm inputs to sustain production, and farmers deliver their fresh produce directly to Jollibee stores in Cebu City.