As part of its sustainable development initiatives, the City of Parañaque recently underwent an Urban Farm Tourism Workshop with the International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST) in Silang, Cavite.
The three-day course is based on the Farm Tourism Development Act of 2016, which aims to help broaden the understanding on organic urban gardening to help augment the daily vegetable requirement and educate people on the productive utilization of vacant spaces.
The event gathered 65 participants from the city government offices, barangay captains, and Paranaque city residents engaged in farming and were clustered into 6 groups to achieve the required supply of products that will be introduced in their barangays.
According to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, the city is pioneering the urban farming program to help ensure food security and contribute to the greening of the metropolis, the workshop being the first among Metro Manila local government units.
He said that a joint team from the ISST and the Mayor’s office will inspect the status and results of the project after 3 months, to identify the assistance needed by the different barangays.
Resource persons to the workshop were ISST president Mina Gabor who talked on Defining Farm Tourism and Opportunities in Urban Farm Tourism, David Balila of Gulayan and Bulaklakan, Research and Training Center who discussed Sustainable Best Practices, and Michael Galang and Rizalie Galang of the Marikina Watershed Kaysakat Association who presented on “Natural Farming Methods” and “Maximizing Small Space in Urban Farming”, respectively.
Other speakers were Rustico Farm owner Precious Rivero Ortega, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction director Philip Usi, Vicente Limsan, Jr. of the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards, and Nazario Briguera of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, who introduced the BFAR’s “Fish-yalan” farm tourism project.
Moreover, Fiona Faulkner of Urban Greens introduced hydroponics as a process of growing plants without the use of soil, a gardening technology widely used in Asian megacities.
As part of the immersion and experiential learning, the group made an educational tour to the Nurture Wellness Village where a presentation on growing herbs and medicinal plants was conducted.
