INTRODUCTION TO URBAN GARDENING

Agriculture development is very important for the Philippines. To illustrate, in

2007, the agricultural sector accounted for about 22 percent of the country’s GNP or
Gross National Product. But what makes it even more important is that it provides
income and livelihood to millions of Filipino people.
The agriculture policies in the Philippines are based on Republic Act 8435, which
is also known as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) of 1997. Its
main objective is to modernized the agriculture sector in the country, while at the same
time trying to enhance the level of participation of the small landholders, in order to
maintain food security and food self-sufficiency. It also aims to promote private sector
participation and people empowerment.
What is Urban Gardening? Urban gardening is the process of growing plants of
all types and varieties in an urban environment. Urban gardening, which is also known
as urban horticulture or urban agriculture, encompasses several unique gardening
concepts, including Container gardening, Indoor gardening, Community gardening and
greenroofs.
If you live in an urban area, there are certain things that seem like they may be
impossible, such as having a yard to enjoy or finding a place to park your car, but
gardening does not have to be one of those things. Urban gardening is the practice of
growing plants in an urban environment. You may be surprised to know that urban
gardening has a positive impact on the economy, the environment and food security.
If you live in a big city, you may not realize it, but urban gardeners are doing their
work all around you. From lush rooftop gardens to colorful window hanging baskets,
more citygoers are practicing their green thumbs. Although there is not one steadfast
definition of urban gardening, it is usually grouped into two segments, container
gardening and rooftop gardening.
Container gardening is very common for people with small patios, yards, or
balconies. They utilize all sorts of containers such as buckets, raised beds, window
boxes or anything else that is conducive to gardening. Rooftop gardening is when you
transform the roof of a building into a garden, through adding soil and garden beds.
Rooftop gardening is traditionally used to grow vegetables and larger plants.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defined the impact
of urban gardening as “an industry that produces, processes and markets food and fuel,
largely in response to the daily demand of consumers within a town, city or metropolis,
on land and water dispersed throughout the urban and peri-urban area, applying
intensive production methods, using and reusing natural resources and urban wastes,
to yield a diversity of crops and livestock.”
The!history!of!urban!
agriculture!in!the!Philippines!
can!be!traced!back!to!the!time!
when!
President!Joseph!Estrada!was!
in!power.!In!1998,!the!First!
Lady,!Loi!Ejercito,!initiated!a!
program!that!combined!
agriculture,!which!produced!
vegetables!for!consumption,!
and!
flower!propagation!for!
beautification!purposes.!In!the!
beginning,!the!program!was!
under!the!supervision!of!the!
Office!of!the!Presidential!
Assistant!for!Food!Security.!
For!its!
implementation,!the!local!
government!units!established!a!
working!group!of!several!
agencies.!In!Metro!Manila,!for!
example,!the!Metropolitan!
Manila!Development!
Authority,!the!Office!of!the!
First!Lady,!the!local!
government!units!(at!the!
barangay!
level),!and!some!NGOs!
worked!together!to!introduce!
and!implement!the!program.!
According!to!Anenias!(2001),!
two!years!after!it!was!
initiated,!the!program!had!
launched!
The!history!of!urban!
agriculture!in!the!Philippines!
can!be!traced!back!to!the!time!
when!
President!Joseph!Estrada!was!
in!power.!In!1998,!the!First!
Lady,!Loi!Ejercito,!initiated!a!
program!that!combined!
agriculture,!which!produced!
vegetables!for!consumption,!
and!
flower!propagation!for!
beautification!purposes.!In!the!
beginning,!the!program!was!
under!the!supervision!of!the!
Office!of!the!Presidential!
Assistant!for!Food!Security.!
For!its!
implementation,!the!local!
government!units!established!a!
working!group!of!several!
agencies.!In!Metro!Manila,!for!
example,!the!Metropolitan!
Manila!Development!
Authority,!the!Office!of!the!
First!Lady,!the!local!
government!units!(at!the!
barangay!
level),!and!some!NGOs!
worked!together!to!introduce!
and!implement!the!program.!
According!to!Anenias!(2001),!
two!years!after!it!was!
initiated,!the!program!had!
launched!
The history of urban agriculture or gardening in the Philippines can be traced
back to the time when President Joseph Estrada was in power. In 1998, the First Lady,
Loi Ejercito, initiated a program that combined agriculture, which produced vegetables
for consumption, and flower propagation for beautification purposes. In the beginning,
the program was under supervision of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Food
Security. For its implementation, the local government units established a working group
of several agencies. In Metro Manila, for example, the Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA), and some NGOs worked together to introduce and implement the
program. According to Anenias (2001), two years after it was initiated, the program has
launched 30 vegetable gardens, cumulative total area of 230,000 square meters. It
improved the lives of 2,500 beneficiaries.

Under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Department of Agriculture

became the program’s implementing agency. One of its offices, the Bureau of Plant and
Industry (BPI), assumed the responsibility of implementing the program that would
increase farm productivity, create jobs and livelihood opportunities, both in rural and
urban areas.