THE Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division in Palawan together with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) organized a three-day training on sustainable food production for Busuanga Island schools and communities.
This training in Coron, Palawan which started on May 9 and culminates today, May 11, gathered at least 40 school heads, Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) coordinators, and representatives from selected barangays in Busuanga and Coron.
Searca Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio noted that during the three-day training, the participants were expected to learn and experience hands-on training.
Topics discussed include school and community gardening, vegetable production, pollination and emasculation breeding techniques, natural farm input preparation, seed saving, and crafting of nutrition action plans for schools and the community.
Gregorio explained that the GPP is an initiative under the National Greening Program or NGP of DepEd.
Participants were oriented on the Memorandum Circular 2023-001 of the Philippine Department of Interior and Local Government's implementation of the "Halina't Magtanim ng Prutas at Gulay1," also called the Hapag program.
Gregorio said the training also served as an experiential learning platform for participants to strengthen their capacity and increase their awareness of their roles in ensuring sustainable food consumption and production toward achieving food and nutrition security in Palawan.
It aligns with Searca's priority areas on sustainable farming systems, natural resource management, and food and nutrition security, he added.