AS PRICES of vegetables and meat continue to increase, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Secretary Isidro Lapeña urged urban residents to embrace farming.

Lapeña said that Filipinos should realize that growing their own food helps the country sustain food security.

“We all know that as we face this pandemic, we are prone to food shortages. That’s why we, in TESDA, listed agriculture as one of our top priorities. In fact, our training institutions were already directed last year to prioritize the agri-sector in allocating budget for their skills training. We have proven that both big and small spaces can be utilized to grow our own food,” he said.

There are nine short courses available under the agriculture sector in the TESDA Online Program that can be accessed through www.e-tesda.gov.ph and the TESDA App.

In May 2019, the TESDA chief,  a proud farmer himself, signed a memorandum directing all training centers to establish their own mini-organic farms that will serve as models on encouraging the community to grow their own food.

During the week-long celebration of TESDA’s 26th anniversary in August last year, TESDA-National Capital Region launched “Gulayan ng Bayan, Bagong Pag-asa sa Gitna ng Pandemya”, an urban community agriculture project for the residents of Sitio San Roque, Bagong Pag-asa Village in Quezon City.

Earlier this month, TESDA Quezon City Lingkod Bayan Skills Development Center also showcased the vegetables that were harvested.

Meanwhile, TESDA-PaMaMaRiSan trained 100 residents in Barangay Fortune, Marikina City on organic farming in October 19 last year. The trainees were taught how to grow lettuce and various vegetables in their own backyard.

TESDA also allotted 100 scholarship slots for the out-of-school-youth in Manila through a partnership with OMA Farm School under the Urban Community Agriculture Project.

Meanwhile, TESDA regional offices nationwide continue to propagate vegetables in their respective mini-organic farms with harvests being shared with nearby communities.