The House of Representatives approved on second reading yesterday a consolidated bill promoting urban agriculture.
House Bill 8385 includes House Bill 3412 authored by Rep. Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District).
Benitez headed the technical working group that produced the consolidated bill, which will mainstream vertical farms, indoor farms, and community gardens in cities and urbanizing areas.
Benitez in House Bill 3412 seeks the passage of an act promoting integrated urban agriculture in urban areas nationwide to address food security.
The Constitution provides for the protection and promotion of the right of the people, as well as proper nutrition, especially of children, Benitez said.
He pointed out that the Philippines has also adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Under Sustainable Development Goal 2, the Philippines has committed to end hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition, increase agricultural productivity and promote sustainable, resilient food production systems, Benitez said.
The government has instituted programs towards these ends, but the country is still far from achieving food security, he added.
The Expanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute shows that 53.9 percent of Filipino households are food insecure, Benitez pointed out.
Meanwhile, based on the Second Quarter 2019 Survey of the Social Weather Station, 10 percent of an estimated 2.5 million families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months prior to the survey, he said.
The highest hunger incidence was recorded in Metro Manila, with 15.7 percent or approximately 520,000 families experiencing hunger. This is four percentage points higher than the number in March 2019, Benitez said.
The promotion of household, community and school-based urban agriculture will contribute to food security and poverty reduction, strengthen community-building, support the National Greening Program, and instill among citizens, especially the youth, environmental consciousness, Benitez said.
Urban agriculture also puts value in otherwise idle urban spaces, maximizing limited land resources that are increasingly shrinking due to rapid urbanization and unsustainable urban development, he added.*