DA-7: Plant vegetables during quarantine period

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) is encouraging the public to plant vegetables and other crops while they are staying at home due to the enhanced community quarantine.

“While we are staying at home, while we are on quarantine, wa man ta’y gihimo sa balay kun mag-standby raman ta mao na nga nindot nga i-spend nato atong time in productive ways. Usa ana is mao nang mananom ta sa atong backyard,” DA-7 regional director lawyer Salvador Diputado said.

Diputado admitted that if the health crisis will continue, time will come that the country will experience scarcity in the food supply.

“Kay ug magdugay pani atong quarantine bai, moabot gyud ang time nga maapektuhan gyud atong supply sa pagkaon,” he added.

Diputado said that if the public will plant vegetables in their backyard, then they will be able to harvest its fruits that they can consume, especially if the time will come that they will experience difficulty in buying foods outside their residences.

He added that currently, the agency is now preparing seedlings that will be distributed to the public for them to grow. The seedlings will be distributed through LGUs.

“Sige pami ron ug preparar. Unya ang kadtong nahuman na ug preparar, ready to distribute na to, kuhaon nato sa mga LGUs,” he said.

Seedlings that will be distributed include pechay, eggplant, ampalaya, among others. They will also distribute instruction materials along with the seedlings, which will guide beneficiaries on how to grow these crops. /rcg