From monstera to patola: Pinoys urged to try edible landscaping

Riding the urban agriculture trend, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping to convince Filipino households not just to cultivate ornamental plants but also to grow their own food.

To do this, the agency has earmarked P400 million for its urban gardening project that would allow it to distribute free “edible landscaping (EL)” kits to interested individuals and local government units.

Each EL starter kit would contain a packet of assorted vegetable seeds including patola, cucumber, eggplant, sitao, “sili,” cowpea, okra and tomato. It would also come with a planting brochure and sample designs for a pocket garden, container garden and community garden.

“Edible landscaping will now form part of our household food security arsenal,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said. “While making your surroundings beautiful, with proper EL technologies, you are not only promoting aesthetics but attaining household food security.”

Dar noted the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the significance of agriculture, which remained the backbone of the country’s economy after being the lone sector that grew during the second quarter of the year.

The program is expected to be launched next month. Dar said those interested would only need to go to the agency’s offices to pick up their EL kits. INQ