The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) has distributed PHP2.8 million worth of supplies to support the “Gulayan sa Paaralan” (GSP) and “Gulayan sa Barangay” (GSB) programs, which aim to strengthen food sustainability in schools and communities.

Thirty schools benefited from the aid — 25 in Benguet and five in Baguio City.

Of the total, PHP2.16 million went to Benguet and PHP700,000 to Baguio City under the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program.

“We hope that the beneficiaries will be successful in their implementation of the program that aims to help ensure that there will be food available on the table,” DA-CAR Director Jennilyn Dawayan said in an interview.

Supplies included peat moss, water sprinklers, garden hoses, seedling trays, transplanters, assorted vegetable seeds and knapsack sprayers.

Eight schools in coffee-growing municipalities in Benguet also received coffee seedlings.

Dawayan said the initiative also teaches children that they can contribute to household food production.

“We want them to realize that they can grow vegetables for their families even with just pots or small backyard spaces,” she said.

The GSP, led by the Department of Education, integrates vegetable gardening into schools to instill agricultural values among students and provide produce for feeding programs.

Meanwhile, the GSB encourages Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program households and communities to engage in communal gardening for access to fresh, organic food.

The program was implemented through the DA’s High Value Crops Development Program in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development-CAR. (PNA)