To show our country's support to the awareness campaign and advocacy efforts against land degradation, the “Soil Conservation Month” was formulated and is now observed every June.

Created through the Department Order No. 2 series of 1997 by former Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero and Administrative Order No. 16 series of 2007 issued by the former Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, this event promotes the importance of soil and water conservation management in attaining food security for the Filipino people.

For this year’s observance, the Soil Conservation Month will be celebrated with the theme, “Soil Conservation: Sustainable Food, Feed and Fibre Production.” It emphasizes the interconnection and attainment of sustained well-being of these three basic products through effective and responsible soil conservation.

Through its training and extension programs, ATI continuously promotes sustainable farming practices to increase biodiversity and soil health in agriculture areas. These include training programs on organic agriculture which aim to encourage the adoption of environment-friendly methods in food production.

Likewise, soil conservation is promoted at the household level as urban farming efforts push through across the country.

This national commemoration is led by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture. For more details on this, contact the BSWM-Soil Conservation and Management Division at (02) 923-0459 or through email at scmd.bswm @ gmail.com.