By Carmencita A. Carillo
Correspondent

DAVAO CITY — Urban gardener Maxay S. Atog, Jr. has only 30 square meters (sqm) of space for vegetables and herbs in his 180-sqm home, but it brings in extra income for his household.

“You do not need a large area to start with urban gardening because you can plant vegetables at the front, back or sides of your residential area,” Mr. Atog said in an interview.

He is an official of the Association of Davao Organic Advocates (ADOA) and is a regular seller at the organic market set up at the Rizal Park every Thursday and Friday.

ADOA currently has around 20 members who all practice organic and urban gardening.

“I started urban gardening in 2008 at the same time we started Gulayan sa Barangay,” Mr. Atog said, referring to a nationwide program promoting backyard farming at the community level.

At that time, he was a kagawad in Barangay Angliongto, which won the Gulayan sa Barangay award for three consecutive years and is now considered a hall of famer.

His primary crop is lettuce, considered a high-value vegetable that sells for P150 a kilo. He harvests and sells five to ten kilos a week, apart from the herbs, which he said has been in high demand.

Mr. Atog said organic gardening also contributes to the city’s waste management.

“I use compost for my fertilizer,” which he processes in his garage using the household’s biodegradable waste.

The crops are also fertilized by the waste material he gathers from his small tilapia and catfish pond, which he himself dug up and lined with plastic.

The City Agriculturist Office (CAO) is aiming to have more residents like Mr. Atog through its Urban Container Gardening (UCG) program.

CAO Chief Leo Brian D. Leuterio said it is possible to produce food even in a small area, concrete even, as demonstrated in the UCG model garden located at the city hall annex rooftop.

The rooftop, which has a rain collector for watering the crops, has an array of vegetables, including water spinach, pechay, cucumber, okra, and tomatoes, as well as herbs like basil, turmeric, lettuce, legumes, and fennel.

“Davao has an ongoing community-based urban organic agriculture program, although it has not yet been properly launched,” Mr. Leuterio said.

CAO has identified two barangays, Cabantian and Aplaya, where model nurseries will be set up.

Mr. Leuterio said these barangays already have existing nurseries, which are now being enhanced to serve as prototypes for urban sustainable agriculture.

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has announced plans to develop a government-owned property in Malagos, a highland area in the city, into an Organic Farm and Agriculture Training Center to help develop small- to medium-scale farms in the city.

In the meantime, residents can get inspiration from the UCG rooftop garden and attend scheduled trainings offered by CAO.

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