To sustain food production under the Urban Agriculture Program of the government, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be optimizing the use of renewable energy to grow food using aquaponics and hydroponics technologies.
On Monday, June 29, Agriculture Secretary William Dar received from Weather Philippines Foundation Inc. President Maribeth Marasigan 19 units of 30-watt solar panels that will be used to power water systems for vegetable production.
According to Secretary Dar, the panels will be set-up at the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry urban gardens in Malate, Manila to generate electricity to sustain both aquaponics and hydroponics set-up.
“We are promoting in a big way renewable energy in agriculture as this is the key to level up food production in the future,” Secretary Dar said.
The Secretary added that the initiative would surely intensify the government’s move towards sustainable, strong, and climate-resilient food production.
In his message, he encouraged other corporations to band with the Department through partnerships involving primary production, secondary and tertiary processing through their corporate social responsibility, and agribusiness efforts.
“This will not only address food security and create income opportunities for our local farmers and fishers in the rural areas, but it will also fast-track the agri-industrialization movement for the country,” he explained.
BPI Director George Culaste expressed his gratitude to Weather Philippines and Aboitiz Equity Ventures headed by Christopher Camba for collaborating in various innovation activities and providing support in value-adding and agribusiness.
“We look forward to creating more partnerships with your group so that we can show the nation that if we work together, we can heal as one,” Dir. Culaste said.
The DA has been mainstreaming initiatives for urban agriculture as part of its Plant, Plant, Plant Program to address the food need of residents living in the metropolis and augment available food supply. ### (Adora Rodriguez, DA-AFID)
