Be a “vegetito” and “vegetita,” not just a “plantito” and “plantita.”
As the government moves to boost the country’s food security, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles is encouraging Filipinos to grow their own fruits and vegetables in their backyard.
According to Nograles, urban gardening could promote not only local food security but also improve the nutrition of people especially those living in urban areas.
“We hope this culture of urban and home gardening takes root in our country. We should go beyond being plantitos and plantitas—dapat maging vegetitos and vegetitas na rin tayo (We should go beyond plantitos and plantitas—we should become vegetitos and vegititas),” he said during a forum on Facebook on Oct. 24.
“Pag ang mga tahanan ay nagtatanim ng sariling gulay sa kanilang bakuran, assured tayo sa sustansyang pagkain para sa tahanang ‘yan (If a household plants its own vegetables in its backyard, we can be assured of nutritious food for that household),” he said.
Nograles, chair of the task Force Zero Hunger, said urban gardening is among the measures promoted by the government to help address hunger in the country.
Apart from growing vegetables in backyards, Nograles pushed for the revival of community gardens in the local community especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Gulayan sa Barangay” or community garden can provide a steady source of healthy produce for the benefit of the people living in the area. Eating vegetables is a crucial step to help reduce the risk of getting sick, he added.
“Ako, full support ako dito ( I am in full support of this). In fact, in Task Force Zero Hunger, we promote urban gardening, community gardens, urban agriculture so that homes and communities have their own supplies of vegetables in their own backyards and are assured of access to nutritious food,” Nograles said.
“Dapat i-revive nila yung gulayan sa barangay lalong-lalo na itong panahon ng pandemya, ng COVID. Ang pinaka anti-COVID talaga dyan yung i-build up resistenya ng katawan mo sa pamamagitan ng pagkain ng gulay,” he said.
(The community garden should be revived especially during this COVID pandemic. The most anti-COVID measure is to build up your resistance by eating vegetables.)
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a resurgence in public interest in growing plants with people fondly calling themselves “plantito” or “plantita.” It is a play on words between plant and the Filipino term for uncle or aunt (tito, tita).
