THE Department of Agriculture-Davao Region (DA-Davao) has once again urged the public to apply edible landscaping in their homes to become self-sufficient.
Engineer Rey Jhon Tan Guadalquiver, Program Engineer of the National and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program of DA-Davao, said that aside from flowers, vegetables, and fruits can also be used as landscaping.
Guadalquiver emphasized that edible farming is a combination of art and science. It not only provides nutritious food that leads to self-sufficiency but is also aesthetically pleasing. He said that those who are interested can cultivate other plants, not just edible ones.
"Gina-awhag gyud namo ang mga katawhan especially sa atong mga gulayan sa paaralan, barangay na mag-edible landscaping gyud ta o mag-gulayan sa atong mga komunidad kay para ma-address nato ang malnutrition and para likay pod ta sa pesticide," he said during the Techtalks on March 28, 2025.
(We really encourage the people, especially in our school gardens and barangays, to practice edible landscaping or gardening in our communities. This is to address malnutrition and also to avoid the use of pesticides.)
He said that through edible landscaping, people will have food free from pesticides. He, however, said that they are not discouraging the use of pesticides and chemicals, but these should be used properly.
He said that their thrust for edible landscaping has four goals: aesthetics – to create an attractive environment that will encourage others to follow; functionality – to create a space for recreation and relaxation; health and wellness – plant fruits and vegetables that are good for people to consume; and self-sufficiency at the household level.
Guadalquiver said that during the pandemic numerous people were into gardening and it even resulted in multiple innovative ideas, such as inventing cement pots made from old clothes.
He said that people could harness their love for planting and apply it to edible landscaping. RGP