Plant food to alleviate hunger in countryside, agri SUCs urged

MANILA, Philippines - To address the reported rise in the incidence of hunger in the country, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) wants all state agricultural colleges and universities to plant food, especially vegetables, in their idle but fertile agricultural lands.

Dr. William Medrano, CHED commissioner, said that students and educators in the more than 50 state-funded agricultural schools all over the country can help alleviate hunger in the countryside by making use of their vast idle lands for the planting of vegetables and other food crops.

“There should be no hunger in the countryside especially since we have so much fertile land around us and we should take an active hand in teaching people in the countryside to grow their food so they will not go hungry,” Medrano added.

Medrano shared that CHED already has one state university, the University of Southern Mindanao in North Cotabato, which can be used as a model for its successful vegetable farming and livestock growing projects under the “Pagkain Para sa Masa” (PPSM) led by Dr. Edwin Hondrade.

The USM model, which had received steady financial grant starting in 2000 when then Agriculture Secretary William Dar gave a P3 million assistance, included the establishment of a community seed bank that provides free vegetables seeds for households in the family to start backyard vegetable gardens as well as a “bahay kubo” vegetable garden school where household heads can get actual demonstration classes for vegetable planting.

Agricultural activities using idle lands, Medrano said, could also be an income generating program for state schools that could help them source funds for capital expenditures and maintenance and operating expenses.