BPI allots P70 million for hunger mitigation plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) is allocating P70 million this year for an Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

According to BPI director Larry Lacson, the BPI’s contribution to the Hunger Mitigation Program would actually be in the form of vegetable seeds for  backyard family farm plots and technical assistance on how to cultivate vegetables for family consumption.

The BPI, Lacson said, would distribute vegetable seeds that are easy to grow such as, but not limited, to “pakbet” vegetables which normally consist of eggplants, tomatoes, stringbeans, okra and squash — for cultivation in small backyard family-owned plots by low-income families selected by the DSWD.

The seeds, Lacson said, would come from accredited suppliers.

The P70 million to be allocated for the program, however, Lacson admitted, would come from the Department of Agriculture’s High Value Commercial Crop (HVCC) program.

The DA, through the BPI is now working with the DSWD on which regions and provinces would be included in the Hunger Mitigation Program.

Most likely, Lacson admitted, the program would be implemented in the third quarter of this year.

Lacson admitted that the actual release of the P70 million may take some time, as such, the BPI would initially use its buffer seed stock for distribution and once it get the P70 million, would simply replenish its seed stock.