MANILA: Seeds to grow food at home will be distributed to people residing in the Cordillera Administrative Region in a government initiative in the Philippines.
The Department of Agriculture in the region, where there are six provinces in an area within Luzon, launched the programme promoting the planting of vegetables using the peri-urban agriculture system, the Philippine News Agency reported.
The department regional director, Dr. Cameron Odsey, revealed the programme dubbed the "Green Revolution 2.0" is in line with the thrust by the government to boost food production by involving residents in cities and urban areas in the region in the food production initiatives.
"We want the residents to be involved in food production using their small spaces because there is food that can be grown in pots and they bear fruits," he said adding the adoption of the programme will not only mean food availability but also a cost-cutting measure considering the rising prices of commodities.
Odsey also encouraged growing additional crops, such as herbs and spices.
The Green Revolution 2.0 is attuned with the new Agricultural department programme, known as the National Urban and Peri-Urban Program (NUPAP) which will be implemented under the High-Value Crops and Development Program (HVCDP).
NUPAP is an initiative of the department that seeks to improve the nutrition of people in the Philippines by intensifying the production and supply of fresh fruits and vegetables in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas, turning communities into patches of green edible landscapes by establishing vegetable gardens.
The provinces under the Cordillera Administrative Region are Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain.