November 11, 2024

Food supply in Baguio, Luzon, Philippines, assured by 3,000 backyard livestock producers, according to agriculturist

Backyard livestock production of about 3,000 residents from Baguio City, Luzon island, the Philippines, is helping ensure food availability even during a calamity, a local executive said on November 7.

In an interview, City Veterinary and Agriculture Office (CVAO) supervising agriculturist Marcelin Tabelin said those involved in livestock production raise chickens, rabbits, ducks, goats, and even involved in producing honey.

"This is good and contributes a lot because we aim to have local production so that in case of any eventuality we are not dependent on outside sources," she said.

Tabelin added that urban gardeners and livestock producers are using backyards, rooftops, and balconies for pot gardening and animal-raising.

She said there are still those who have not been profiled and registered.

She explained that while these urban agriculturists have minimal production, mostly for their families' consumption, this remains a huge contribution to ensuring food sustainability in the city and is in line with the government's goal.

"We started the promotion of urban farming in 2018 and we immediately saw the appreciation of the residents who come to us to avail of the different services like provision for young animals for raising or production," she said.

The CVAO provides free planting materials, seeds, seedlings, fingerlings for inland aquaculture, and chicks as well as training, market encounters for linkage to the markets and other programmes that the Department of Agriculture (DA) also supports.

- PNA