Mandaue residents practice vegetable gardening

CEBU, Philippines - Vegetable farming has gained popularity among residents of Mandaue City after Mayor Jonas Cortes introduced the annual search for best in container and backyard vegetable gardening to the barangays.

This year, barangay Paknaan garnered three major awards, highest number of gardens with P20,000 as prize, container gardening represented by couple Rolando and Gregoria Rosalialda, with P20,000 prize and best in vegetable-based cooking demo contest with P1,500 as prize.

On the other hand, barangay Tabok represented by Agripino Cuer, won P20,000 as first prize in backyard gardening category.

“We want to be self-sufficient in terms of vegetables and use organic fertilizer we produced by composting method,” said Rolando, 48, a mechanic of a taxi company during the culmination program for the nutrition month held Monday at city hall grounds.

Rolando and his wife use recycled cans, plastic bottles, and other containers in planting all sorts of vegetables.

“It is the source of our food as well as income since many come to buy our products,” the wife said.

“Vegetables are good source of food and we have to be innovative and plant these in our respective households,” said Mayor Cortes in his message.

Sharon Mangadlao, senior city agriculturist who organizes the search said majority of the 27 barangays realize the importance of good nutrition and are now into vegetable planting.

Mangadlao said because of the success of this program, other local government units including Cebu City and Consolacion have invited them to share how they implemented it.

Leading in this program are barangays Paknaan, Subangdaku, and Tabok. “We have divided our barangay into purok or zones for easy implementation of vegetable gardening program,” said barangay Paknaan chair Malaquias Soco.

Mandaue City grabbed the first place in the national search for container gardening and second for backyard gardening in the national search conducted last year by Junior Chamber International Philippines and Universal Harvester, Inc. (FREEMAN)