Edible landscaping helps reduce imports and raises food security

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Agricultural Research’s (BAR) edible landscaping (EL) program hopes to  encourage home-based organic vegetable planting to help reduce imports, enhance the environment, and raise food security.

The EL, a partnership between BAR and University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), has attracted adopters including the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual, and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) of Japan.  

Its aesthetic value and food security aim is envisioned to have a significant impact locally.

“Edible landscaping may not be totally for commercial profitability.  But it will raise consumption of vegetables and enhance food security.  And we have an organic growing system that’s good for health and environment,” according to UPLB EL project leader Farnando C. Sanchez Jr.

BAR allocated P1 million for the first phase of the technology promotion of EL which initially had its site at the UPLB CA-Agripark.

“Instead of planting just ornamental plants, we want to encourage more households to plant vegetables in their front and back yards to provide for their own basic needs and reduce imports of vegetables,” said BAR director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

A United Nations data quoted by the Factfish showed that as of 2012 the Philippines’ vegetable imports amounted to$3.013 million (P142 million). 

The project can have extensive livelihood opportunity wherever people want to keep healthy and eat fresh, organic vegetables.

“It offers an opportunity for about 34.2 percent of the total household population or 5.2 million families of the country that live below the poverty threshold, especially for families in the cities that cannot afford the high cost of basic needs as food,” according to a BAR-UPLB report. 

OISCA, a Tokyo-based organization established by  Rev. Yonosuke Nakano, has  been engaged in vegetable planting even before it took up EL.  Its EL farm is in Tiaong, Quezon.

OISCA had a value addition in its vegetable farming from BAR-UPLB’s EL as the beautification function of its farm enhances attraction of young farmers into agriculture.

EL also enhances the environment as the greeneries avert emission of more carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming and climate change.

When it was founded in the Philippines in 1961, OISCA’s aim was to bring Japanese agriculturists to the Philippines to train Filipinos on agriculture.

OISCA as of 1983 has sent 336 Japanese agricultural experts to the Philippines and 245 Filipinos to Japan.

The EL’s two phases were implemented from November 2009 to September 2012.

Aside from potentially  reducing the country’s vegetable imports, the  EL has economic value for agritourism.  Agritourism sites can charge visitors an entrance fee.

One agritourism model is that of the Benguet State University (BSU) which generates around P2 million yearly from its tourist site in its campus in Benguet.  It is planted with organic strawberry and Arabica coffee. BSU charges P50 per entrant.

Aside from OISCA, the EL of BAR-UPLB has been demonstrated in the gardens of several institutions. These include a Rotary Club of Los Banos-assisted public school, UP Rural High School, and even at BAR’s own office site along Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.

Since EL was introduced by UPLB in 1999, EL was also adopted by a Laguna provincial program called “Food Always in the Home” which popularized vegetable gardening.

BAR has been supporting projects that boost consumption of vegetables in the country which is known to be among the lowest in Asia.

 The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated the Philipines’ vegetable consumption of 60 kilos per person per year in 2007 was one of Asia’s lowest, reported the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

 This results in chronic malnutrition especially in children, with shortage in people’s intake of vitamins and minerals.  The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) of 2008 reported 33 percent of Filipino children less than 10 years old were too short for their age classification. Stunting also affects 29 percent of five-year-olds.

 NNS reported the Philippines’ average daily consumption per person of 110 grams  of vegetables as of 2008 was lower than the 145 grams consumption in 1978.