The Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) has assured support to the Cebu provincial government’s “SUGBUsog sa Eskuylahan” program in a bid to enhance food production especially during the prevailing pandemic.
Lawyer Salvador Diputado, regional executive director of DA-7 expressed the DA’s support to the program through the provision of farm inputs such as vegetable seeds and organic fertilizers, among others.
“The program is in response to the call of Secretary Dar to LGUs to boost farm production amid the health crisis.”
Diputado said the program is in response to the call of Agriculture Secretary William Dar to local government units to boost farm production amid the health crisis.
DA-7 is one of the three national agencies that signed a tripartite agreement recently for the program’s implementation.
The two others are the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-7 and the Department of Education (DepEd)-7 as the base agency.
Dubbed as “SUGBUsog, Estudyanteng Busog, Luwas ug Himsog”, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia shared that the program aims to make the province food sufficient and independent from other provinces’ food supply.
Diputado noted that DA-7 will also provide basic production technology training and other logistic support to the program, while DOST-7 will provide the necessary training on product value-adding and other by-products processing.
Among the vegetable seeds to be distributed by DA-7 to the public elementary and high schools are okra, cucumber, eggplant, and squash.
DepEd-7 is tasked to monitor its implementation.
“I plan to launch a contest for the most productive and beautiful garden in all the participating schools.”
Garcia plans to launch a contest for the most productive and beautiful garden in all the participating schools in the province to encourage them to actively participate in the program.
Meanwhile, in an earlier meeting between the lady governor, Diputado, Philippine Coconut Authority-7 regional manager Brendan Trasmonte, provincial agriculturist Roldan Saragena and the top officials of Cebu Technological University (CTU)-Barili campus, they discussed the plan to establish a hybrid coco nursery facility in the school’s more than 90 hectares of idle land.
Garcia plans to establish a coconut nursery in the province to optimize coconut production and ensure the livelihood and productivity of coconut farmers in the province.