CALOOCAN CITY—To further support the move of community churches to go into urban agriculture, especially in this time of a pandemic, the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) participated in the Agri-tek Eskwela Sessions COVEG 2020 “Gulayamanan” of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Caloocan.

Following the launch of a local urban agriculture project, the Institute provided technical assistance during the community church’s urban farming information drive.

Participated by selected families and communities, the said event highlighted different gardening strategies and vegetable seed production practices. This was led by agriculturist Jomar Tabor of the ATI-Partnerships and Accreditation Division.

Tabor engaged the participants in a discussion and demonstration on container gardening, vertical gardening, edible landscaping, square-foot farming, and hydroponics. He also taught them how to make soil mixtures, as well as their own organic concoctions at home.

Moreover, Tabor gave updates on the ATI’s urban agri initiative, under the Department of Agriculture’s “Plant, Plant, Plant” program, which aims to address the threat on food security during global health crisis.

After the series of capacity-building interventions on agriculture in the Diocese of Caloocan, the participants are expected to join the urban farming movement, sustain their community gardens, and eventually see the potential of farming as a business.

The one-day activity was held last September 7 in the Grace Urban Agri Demonstration Farm, Shrine of Our Lady of Grace Parish compound in this city. It was simultaneously streamed at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Caloocan’s Facebook page.