Barangay San Antonio in Pasig City is a highly urbanized community where one can find various high-rise condominiums and office buildings. It is the home of Ortigas Center Business District, the University of Asia and the Pacific, Discovery Suites, Development Academy of the Philippines, and the National Economic and Development Authority. In their midst is an urban garden where fruits and vegetables are grown using compost (See, “Barangay San Antonio tops Pasig’s urban gardening contest,” in the BusinessMirror, August 4, 2021).
Aside from producing fruits and vegetables, the barangay’s urban garden also has a honey farm, mushroom and farm and waste composting. The garden is organized by Pasig City street sweepers who reside in Brgy. San Antonio. They sell produce to the public at “very reasonable prices” and proceeds are set aside for the operating expenses of the urban garden, according to barangay officials.
The Brgy. San Antonio garden shows that producing food in a highly urbanized community is possible, especially if it will get the support of both local officials and residents. It can serve as a possible template for other communities that are in search of initiatives that will not only benefit residents but also the environment. This is because a sustainable urban garden will help reduce carbon footprint as residents would not have to travel elsewhere to buy fruits and vegetables.
It would do well for the new administration to encourage the establishment of similar urban gardens to boost food supply in the community and fight hunger, which could worsen given the recent spike in commodity prices. The results of a Social Weather Stations survey conducted in December indicated that nearly 12 percent of Filipino families, or 3 million people, experienced involuntary hunger in the fourth quarter. This brought the annual average rate for 2021 to 13.1 percent, lower than the record high 21.1 percent recorded in 2020, but still above the 9.3 percent in 2019.
As suggested by House Bill 72, or the Integrated Urban Agriculture Act, local government units should incorporate urban farms in their development plans. The commitment of LGUs to implement programs such as urban farming is key to mainstreaming the initiative. With the assistance of national agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, urban gardens that are capable of producing part of the food requirements of residents will help ease the pressure on supply chains, which are currently grappling with disruptions caused by the pandemic and the eventual reopening of economies.
Increasing the supply of affordable fruits and vegetables in the community will also boost efforts of the government to fight malnutrition and stunting. Over 75 million Filipinos cannot afford a healthy diet, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report (See, “7 in 10 Filipinos can’t afford nutritious food—OFI 2022,” in the BusinessMirror, July 11, 2022).
Making nutritious food more accessible to households will reduce the cost of a healthy diet, especially now that fruits and vegetables have become more expensive following the surge in fertilizer prices.