ZAMBOANGA CITY, Aug 12 (PIA) – Urban women homemakers in Zamboanga City underwent training on what the Department of Agriculture (DA) call ‘containerized gardening’ in support to its promotion of urban agriculture amidst the pandemic.

The DA said that as one of the resolutions under Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, the two-day training aims to equip urban dwellers with the skills and knowledge in container gardening to improve the quality of life in urban areas and to help families become food sufficient in this time of pandemic.

Arnulfo Estrada, Agricultural Program Coordinator for Zamboanga City, encouraged the public to engage in container gardening, especially those with small spaces in their backyard.

“Let us continue to plant vegetables and other high value crops in our backyards. And for those who do not have enough space in their homes, container gardening is your best option which is easy and cost-efficient,” he said.

The High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) of Department of Agriculture Region IX (DA9) have trained 25 women from urban communities in Zamboanga City on containerized gardening and urban agriculture last August 5-6.

Majority of the participants were housewives and members of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), residing in urban barangays of Tugbungan, Talon-Talon, Pasonanca, and Cabatangan, this City.

“I am very thankful for this training because it taught me ideas and techniques in planting that I have not learned before. I hope that with these new learnings, I can finally get to that desired progress on my vegetable growing,” Jocelyn V. Lacerna, a parent leader of 4Ps in Cabatangan, Zamboanga City testified.

Experts from DA9 and the City Agriculturist Office of Zamboanga discussed urban agriculture, container gardening and vegetable production, edible landscaping, household composting, botanical pesticide and Natural Farming Technology System (NFTS) during the training.

Assorted vegetable seeds (pinakbet veggies) and information materials on vegetable production were distributed to the trainees as part of their initial steps in containerized gardening.

Jose Jacinto B. Antonio, DA-9 Gender and Development focal person, also lectured on women’s rights and their vital role in the society and reminding them to stand up against violence and other abuses on women. (EDT/RVC/PIA-9 with reports from Darwin Reyes/DA-RFO IX)