The Departments of Agriculture Regional Field Office No. 02 (DA RFO 02) and Education Region 02 (DepEd RO 2) conducted the first quarter Gulayan sa Paaralan Program Implementation Review and prepared an Operations Manual to further strengthen the said program on July 31, 2019, at the DA Nueva Vizcaya Experiment Station (NVES), Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya.
DA Usec. for High-Value Crops and Development Program and Rural Credit Evelyn Laviña said that it was important to craft the Regional Operations Manual for GPP to effectively and efficiently implement the said program in all public elementary and secondary schools all over Cagayan Valley.
“Now, we will not only be focusing on nutrition but also create a community of young farmers that will spread agriculture in their backyards and communities,” she said.
The program was issued according to DepEd Memorandum No. 293 series of 2007 “to encourage both public elementary and secondary schools to establish school gardens to ensure the continuous supply of vegetables for school feeding, specifically School-Based Feeding program (SBFP).”
Regional Technical Director for Operations Roberto Busania lauded the implementers of the said program that resulted in food security in schools and communities, through the pieces of training conducted by DA and continues distribution of planting materials. From April to May of 2019, there were 600 total schools trained who also received interventions from DA through vegetable seeds, garden tools, mapal bed, humus plus and peat moss.
“We hoped that this GPP is a life support system for our young learners who venture into agriculture at a young age,” he said adding that this 1st quarter review is aimed to discuss the current situation of the program in every implementer.
Recently, the DA RFO 02 and DepEd RO2 awarded the best implementers in the region.
The program participated in by Program Education Supervisors and nurses in all division of the region also discussed how GPP have impacted their respective divisions and the help needed to continue the said program.
