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DA CARAGA COMMENCES URBAN GARDENING CONTEST FOR THE YOUTH
The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Caraga launched on August 31 the Urban Gardening Contest for the Youth through a virtual ceremony. The contest is spearheaded by the Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section (RAFIS) with the support of the DA-High Value Crops Development Program and in partnership with the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federations of the Region. It aims to promote urban agriculture especially to the youth and encourage more people to engage in it. Furthermore, it aims to showcase a food production model that can be copied by other people in the community. There are six participating SK Federations coming from Butuan City, Santiago of Agusan del Norte, San Francisco and Talacogon of Agusan del Sur, SK Sison of Surigao del Norte, and SK San Agustin of Surigao del Sur. In her message, DA-Caraga Regional Technical Director for Operations Rebecca R. Atega thanked the six SK groups for responding to the call of the Department. “We need to attract young people and encourage them to participate in agriculture programs and activities,” she said.
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In addition, Dir. Atega said urban agriculture also helps to ensure the availability and accessibility of food especially in the urban areas in spite of the global health crisis.
Prior to the launching, the DA-Caraga provided the participating SK groups some vegetable seeds and other gardening materials they can use in establishing their vegetable gardens. With the theme “Youth in Action, Feeding the Nation”, the Urban Gardening Contest for the Youth will run for three months after which the team from DA-Caraga will evaluate the gardens to determine the winners.
The winners will receive P40,000, P30,000, and P20,000 cash prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placer, respectively.
Urban agriculture is one of the programs under the Plant Plant Plant or Ahon Lahat Pagkaing Sapat kontra sa COVID 19 which is among the DA’s programs in response to the global pandemic. (Vanessa P. Sanchez, DA 13-RAFIS/PIA Caraga)
