EU, USA, and the rest of the G-20: take note and take part.
In an effort to encourage every Filipino to take part in the Food Sufficiency target of the government, both legislative houses are introducing a legislation to promote urban farming in the metropolis.
BUTIL Party list Rep. Agapito Guanlao and Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid sponsored House Bill No. 720 and Senate Bill No. 2095 while Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid authored Senate Bill No. 2095 during the First Regular Session of the Sixteenth Congress.
The said bills direct the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to campaign for urban agriculture and vertical farming in metropolitan areas to address food security concerns and regenerate ecosystem functions in the Philippines.
Guanlao explained that H.B. No. 720 or the Urban Agriculture Act of 2013 will institutionalize city farming in highly urbanized communities nationwide. Urban agriculture is the production, processing and marketing of food crops in response to the demand of consumers through intensive production methods, such as using and reusing available sources and wastes, to yield a diversity of crops and livestock.
Vertical farming, on the other hand, employs the concept of indoor agriculture in skyscrapers and other modern buildings.
Meanwhile, Lapid said S.B. No. 2095 shall institutionalize, strengthen, and promote urban agriculture and vertical farming in order to meet food sufficiency targets, create agricultural jobs, and develop innovative agricultural techniques suitable for the present time.
He added that as the country struggles to increase rice production to sustain local demand and open opportunities in the international markets, agricultural land areas continue to diminish and converted for other purposes such as housing and industry.
Lapid said that urban agriculture and vertical farming are best possible solutions, “as suggested by experts around the world.”
During a forum on Urban Agriculture, on February 26, 2014, DA Special Technical Adviser Edicio dela Torre suggested the creation of a task force that will lobby for the passage of the bills into law. He also recommended that review DA-Department of Education Memorandum of Agreement on the implementation of the Gulayan sa Paaralan and urged the participants to conduct similar forums on a regular basis.