Zubiri pushes for community orchards

CEBU, Philippines - Former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri is urging local government officials to put up community orchards saying brutal climate change has underscored the value of trees as “natural coolants”.

Zubiri, who is in Cebu for a speaking engagement, said that trees are our organic air-conditioners and air purifiers as well as our built-in energy savings device.

The former senator was the chairman of the Senate’s committee on environment and natural resources, is the founder of the celebrity-driven Pilipinas Ecowarriors, which watches over potential violators of environmental protection laws.

Zubiri said local government units should do their share in addressing environmental problems after the temperature in Metro Manila climbed to 36.2 degrees Celsius -- the hottest recorded this year.

According to Zubiri, a community orchard could be grown on as little as 5,000 square meters of suitable land and that the provincial, city and municipal governments could acquire the land and put up the basic facilities for the orchards.

“Besides improving air quality, protecting watersheds and reducing soil erosion, fruit-bearing trees and plants can provide a natural source of inexpensive food for consumption in the midst of rising hunger,” Zubiri said.

“In fact, community orchards can be developed into full-blown economic enterprises by our barangays and multi-purpose cooperatives,” he pointed out.

With adequate support and encouragement, Zubiri said the widespread cultivation of fruit-bearing trees could serve as an extra source of livelihood for the jobless.

During the stormy season, he said orchards could help shield communities from destructive winds and mitigate the hazards of flash floods due to surface runoff.

Zubiri said local governments and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources should push for the propagation of community orchards as one of the strategies to fight harsh climate change.

The former senator is from the farming province of Bukidnon and is a University of the Philippines-educated agriculturist. The Organic Farming Act and the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act was one of his accomplishments while he was in Senate. — (FREEMAN)