DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, April 25 (PIA) -- With the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) in the province, physical and mental alertness have improved among undernourished students in Balugo Elementary School.

According to GPP coordinator Noel Ramirez, a noticeable progress was observed among undernourished students after being fed regularly with vegetables from the GPP program which started in 2019.

Ramirez said 33 students in Balugo were identified with acute malnutrition or low weight for height based on Philippine health standards.

The situation qualified their school to be a recipient of the GPP program.

Canteen coordinator Irene Calugcugan said they serve cooked vegetables to the undernourished students every day with varying menus.

Their improved nutrition was observed after daily monitoring of the students’ performance in school.

Ramirez considered the improvement as a direct impact of the GPP when a reduction of more than half or 17 of the undernourished students recovered in 2021.

The GPP program is currently working on the health improvement of the 16 other students who are closely monitored and provided with healthy food daily even during the pandemic.

The Department of Agriculture’s intervention in the GPP is the distribution of seeds and farm tools to public schools.

In 2020, the DA granted a total of 50 kilos of assorted seeds of eggplant, spinach, okra, tomato, squash, sweet pepper, lettuce, and string beans for the GPP program in the province. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental with reports from DA)