Cebu Province’s SUGBUsog earns praises from agriculture chief

CEBU, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary William Dar lauded Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for the overwhelming success of her SUGBUsog program, an initiative aimed at enhancing food production by promoting community gardening in the countryside amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dar touted Garcia’s initiative as a “symbol of her strong leadership, her love and care for the Cebuanos.”

SUGBUsog or Sugbuanong Busog, Luwas ug Himsog was aimed to enhance food production in the countryside and to encourage non-farmers to grow vegetables in their backyard through a competition among communities in the province.

 “Bilib ako sa programa nang probinsiya, yung SUGBUsog,” said Dar, who visited a community Garden in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City yesterday.

According to him, the program demonstrates how unity and cooperation helped the Cebuanos rise up against the adversities brought by the pandemic. The country’s top agriculture official promised to continue their support for SUGBUsog program, which he says worth emulating.

Dar was impressed at how Jesus Cortes, one of the winners in the SUGBUsog gardening contest, managed to grow vegetables using discarded containers in his backyard.

Cortes’ creativity and innovativeness won him P10,000 after his backyard garden in Barangay Canduman, Mandaue City was chosen as the best in urban garden category.

 Cortes, 43, said he was encouraged to engage in container gardening last year after losing his livelihood as a tricycle driver due to the pandemic.

“Nawagtangan mi og trabaho tungod sa pandemic, ug maayo kaayo nga ang Probinsya sa Sugbo nihimo og contest nga SUGBUsog urban gardening," Cortes said.

Meanwhile, Garcia has announced the lifting of the ban on the export of live hogs from Cebu to other provinces.

In January, Garcia issued executive order No. 8 regulating the export of live hogs and sows to other areas of the country to protect the pig supply in the province amid the threat of African Swine Fever (ASF) in other parts of the country.

“I believe we have really enough supply. We will again resume na, Sec, na maka-send out na tayo ng live hogs uli to Metro Manilia,” Garcia told Dar yesterday.

Cebu remains to be ASF-free until now because of the strict measures the provincial government has been implementing.

 “I think our backyard industry continue to be protected. That has helped us. We cannot be facing two pandemics at the same time,” Garcia said.

Dar also praised Garcia for putting up good measures to protect the hog industry of the province.

“My wish would be, I hope Cebu would increase its production para yong excess dito pwede ibenta sa Metro Manila,” Dar said.

According to him, there is a 26% shortage of pork supply in the Philippines because of ASF. This is the reason why DA has done supply augmentation by importing from other countries.

“…and the lowering of the tariff plus the minimum access volume is now making a significant impact in terms of reducing pork prices in Manila,” he said. — Le Phyllis F. Antojado, FPL (FREEMAN)