Philippine President and Agriculture Secretary Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Interior and Local Government Secretary Atty. Benjamin C. Abalos led the launching and ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of the Halina't Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay Kadiwa'y Yaman Plants for Bountiful Barangays Movement (HAPAG KAY PBBM) program on 1 March 2023 at the Open-Air Auditorium, Rizal Park, Manila.
Anchored on fulfilling the administration’s thrust to address hunger and achieve food security in the country, the HAPAG KAY PBBM merges the Department of Interior and Local Government’s HAPAG sa Barangay project and the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Green Revolution 2.0: Plants for Bountiful Barangays Movement.
“As this initiative consolidates the program of these two agencies in urban agriculture, I am confident that we will further increase our capacity to take part in our goal to address poverty and ensure food security and protect the environment even at the barangay level,” President Marcos Jr. underscored.
Further, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban emphasized how the program shall strengthen the capacities of barangays in increasing access to fresh, safe, and affordable produce through household and community gardening.
“The department, through this movement, seeks to turn communities into patches of green edible landscapes and improve the nutrition of the Filipinos,” he added.
The newly launched program promotes adoption of sustainable urban agricultural technologies such as aeroponics, aquaponics, container gardening, hydroponics, square-foot gardening, and vertical gardening in urban and peri-urban areas. Two of the said technologies are showcased through the exhibited Edible Landscaping Garden supported under a DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research-funded project.
Officials and staff of the DA- BAR, led by OIC-director Joell H. Lales, and other DA attached agencies and staff bureaus, local government units, state universities and colleges, and private sector representatives showed support and participation in the launching activities