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Participants of the Inception Meeting of three projects initiatives under the GALING-PCAARRD Kontra COVID-19 Program (Image credits: Mr. Gabriel Paolo L. Peralta, CRD, DOST-PCAARRD, Los Baños, Laguna)

Farmers and households in selected communities in Regions I, 3, and 4A will be trained on basic farm management and crop production.

This will be done through the three projects of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD)’s Good Agri-Aqua Livelihood Initiatives towards National Goals or the GALING-PCAARRD Kontra COVID-19 Program.

The projects, “BIG-Panlaban sa COVID-19 Para sa Ilocos,” “Going Back to Basic: Plant, Raise, and Sustain the Chemical Pesticide-Free Integrated Backyard Farming,” and “Participatory Enhancement of Food Security in Laguna through S&T-based Home Garden Systems” will be implemented by the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), Bulacan Agricultural State College (BASC), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), respectively.

The projects will facilitate the establishment of communal and backyard farms for the communities to have sustainable and secure food sources amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual inception meeting was held recently and was coordinated by the Crops Research Division (CRD) of DOST-PCAARRD. Project team members from MMSU, BASC, and UPLB; Ilocos Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (ILAARRDEC); and DOST-PCAARRD key officials and staff attended the meeting. (Written by Joel Norman R. Panganiban and Gabriel Paolo L. Peralta, DOST-PCAARRD S&T Media Services)