IDLE BUCOR LAND TAPPED FOR VEGETABLE FARMS

Idla lands in the 80-hectare Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) will be transformed into vegetable farms and other agri-ventures with the partnership agreement that Bucor and the Department of Agriculture entered into to augment food production in the metropolis.

Dubbed "Gulayan sa Pamahalaan, " Agriculture Secretary William Dar and BuCor Director-General and Undersecretary Gerald Bantag formally launched the project at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City on February 11, 2021.

“Let’s put up a sustainability plan for this project to be continued even beyond the time that we will no longer be here to support it. Make it a self-sustaining business model, the model that we can start working on so that we build up the capacity of the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs),” Dar said.

He added that the PDL should be engaged to be part of enhancing food security for themselves and for their family.

Through the DA-BuCor Memorandum of Agreement for agriculture development, arable land at the NBP reservation will be developed into an agri-fishery site that will help reform PDL, prepare them for community integration, and support Metro Manila’s food requirements.

In three years, plant nurseries, seed production facilities, breeder farms, fish farms, and composting facilities will be established, while maintaining fruit, vegetable, livestock, and fish farm within the 80-hectare NBP reservation.

According to Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Assistant Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban, every seed planted by the partners at BuCor and the PDL symbolize hope for the future.

Dar challenged the BPI to upscale the UAP implementation through partnerships with different government agencies and private sector stakeholders to help lessen the impact of the pandemic.

Officials present during the event include DA Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Eduardo Gongona, and BuCor Assistant Secretary Gabriel Chaclag.

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