BUTUAN CITY – Several Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) from Butuan City attended two batches of the Seminar on Food Processing and Food Safety for PWDs on June 10-11 and June 14-15, 2021 held at Balanghai Hotel & Convention Center. Samuel L. Calonzo, Center Director of the Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center 13, stressed the need for the Department of Agriculture to reach out to people from different sectors including PWDs to instill the importance of growing their own food and staying healthy especially during the pandemic. Eric Ancheta, Agricultural Technologist from the City Agriculture Office of Butuan City, was one of the resource persons in the training. He was joined by Emee Lopez who talked about Meat Processing and Dr. Anna Melissa Talavera who discussed on Food Safety.

This undertaking was designed to empower marginalized sectors of the society and educate people in growing vegetables and ensuring food availability at home. By growing their own veggies, people can earn extra income, promote food safety and good nutrition, at the same time make life more productive and less stressful by spending more time on home gardening. (with the report from Paula Mae Creencia)