ILOILO – Around 243 farmers joined the Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally Competitive and Resilient (MoRProGRes) Gardens of the Iloilo provincial government.
MoRProGRes Gardens are for high-value crops or ornamental plants, using recycled/upcycled materials with landscaping features, and shall serve as an agricultural-tourism destination for Ilonggo weekenders and a climate change response as well.
MoRProGRes Gardens, established through Executive Order No. 640 by Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. in 2022, aims to create agri-tourism destinations by blending ornamental gardening, landscaping and high-value crop production.
“It is a food security measure, a climate change response, and a tourism program as well,” said Defensor.
The institutionalization of MoRProGRes Gardens is a “vehicle” to realize the social justice agenda of his administration, wherein the “local government unit (LGU) provides for equitable distribution of opportunity and resources of the province through good governance.”
The following are the objectives of MoRProGRes Gardens:
* to promote the production of high-value crops in various agricultural settings for food security
* to blend ornamental gardening, landscaping and high-value crop production
* to create an agri-tourism destination for tourists, especially Ilonggo weekenders
* to create green-agri-tourism destinations that promote the use of recycled/upcycled materials
* to contribute to the climate change response of the province
Creating MoRProgGRes Gardens
Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) chief, Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, said after the 122nd founding anniversary celebration, the provincial government will conduct training for the farmers who joined the MoRProGRes Gardens.
After training, they would have nine months to cultivate their respective gardens to make them lush with produce and also Instagrammable, or visually pleasing.
The target date for judging will be in February 2024, and awarding of winners will be in April 2024, or during the 123rd founding anniversary.
To give interested farmers an idea, the PAO showcased MorProGRes Gardens at the capitol grounds starting yesterday until Friday.
“It’s not nga amo gid na sia, they could still make some innovations and sa ila creativity kon paano na, pero on how we project nga amo na supposedly,” said Toledo.
MoRProGRes Gardens may be established by the convergence partners, meaning LGUs, public schools and academic/technical education institutions, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, socio-civic organizations, religious organizations, farmers, social media netizens, businesses, and other sectors.
The province and convergence partners shall assist MoRProgGRes Gardens in the form of the following:
* training/orientation in high-value crop farming, ornamental plant gardening, landscaping and the use of recycled/upcycled materials in gardening
* seedlings and other farm inputs
* agri-tourism establishment management/PN
