PALAWAN, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), together with the Department of Education Schools Division of Palawan (DepEd Palawan), will organize a three-day training on sustainable food production for schools and communities in Busuanga Island, Palawan. The training will be held in Coron, Palawan, Philippines from 9 to 11 May 2023.
At least 40 school heads, Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) coordinators, and representatives from selected barangays in Busuanga and Coron will learn and experience hands-on training. Topics to be discussed during the training include school and community gardening, vegetable production, pollination and emasculation breeding techniques, natural farm input preparation, seed saving, and crafting of nutrition action plans for schools and community. The Gulayan sa Paaralan is a program written in Filipino, which means school vegetable garden. GPP is an initiative under the National Greening Program of the Department of Education.
Moreover, they will also be oriented on the Memorandum Circular 2023-001 of the Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government’s implementation of the Halina’t Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay1 (HAPAG) program.
This training will serve as an experiential learning platform for participants to strengthen their capacity and increase their awareness of their roles in ensuring sustainable food consumption and production toward achieving food and nutrition security in Palawan. It is aligned with SEARCA’s priority areas on sustainable farming systems, natural resource management, and food and nutrition security.
1 It is written in Filipino language, which can be translated as “Come, let us plant fruits and vegetables.”