Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

Aga4

HOUSE BILL NO,

Introduced by Representative Sharon 8. Garin

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In recent times, multiple statistics from studies conducted by multiple agencies reveal a
problematic trend of hunger, wasting, and undernutrition in our young children, particularly our
school children,

According to 2012-2013 figures of the Department of Education (DepEd), more than half a
million or 534,054 Filipino schoolchildren are malnourished and severely wasted, meaning that they
are too thin for their height. The most recent Global School-based Health Survey by the World
Health Organization (WHO) from 2011 also reported that 11.8% of surveyed Filipino students aged
13-15 years old were underweight.

This is problematic as though a student's life can be exciting and exhilarating, it ean also be
grueling and exhausting. Undernutrition and hunger adversely affects a child’s ability to learn and
ders them from achieving their full potential. It disrupts a child’s mental and physical
development, which may ultimately lead to poor productivity in adulthood. Furthermore, it makes
them more vulnerable to diseases, disabilities, and even death,

This bill seeks to battle undernutrition, as well as promote health and nutrition in school
children and the community in general. This is done by establishing a National Farm to School
Program, which is a school-based strategy that focuses on creating a healthy school food
environment. This program has already been implemented in various states and locales in the United
States resulting in great outcomes. Farm to School implementation differs by location but almost
always include the following: (a) Procurement, where local foods are purchased, promoted, and
served to school children; (b) Education, where students participate in educational activities related
to agriculture, food, health and nutrition; and (c) School Gardens, where students engage in hands-on
learning through in-school farming and gardening,

Farm to School Programs provide a variety of benefits to. students, parents, schools,
communities and food producers. Key outcomes in student health and achievement have included
improvement in early childhood eating behaviors, including choosing healthier options in school
canteens, consuming more fruits and vegetables through supplementary feeding programs, and
willingness to try new foods and healthier options. There is also anecdotal evidence that children are
more inclined 0 eat healthier when they or their friends grew their own food or they know the
garden where it was growr



Farm to school programs also provide benefits to education by promoting food and
agriculture-based learning activities to enhance the quality of the educational experience. This leads
to an increase in knowledge and awareness about gardening, agriculture, and instill in children the
values of good health, proper nutrition, hard work, and responsibility. All this, ultimately leads to
‘enhanced overall academic achievement for our school children.

Farm to school likewise provide economic development opportunities to local economies by

mandating the procurement of food from local farms and producers to be used in its program
components.

With this novel, integrated, and common sense approach to child nutrition, Farm to School
will provide far more cross-sectoral benefits than other regular health and nutrition programs of the

government. It is the hope of this Representation, that this bill be approved for the benefit of the
school children and their communitie:



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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OR REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress
First Regular Session

4894

HOUSE BILL NO,

Introduced by Representative Sharon S. Garin

AN ACT
TABLISHING A NATIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Farm to
School Program Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to protect the right to health of the people and take appropriate action to
promote their health and proper nutrition.

The State also recognizes the importance of agricultural productivity and
the valuable contribution of local and farm producers in economic development,
thus, it shall implement programs to support and strengthen local agricultural
industries

Towards this end, the government shall establish a comprehensive and

integrated program that connects schools, children, farmers and food


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entrepreneurs to local communities to promote nutrition, facilitate agricultural
productivity, stimulate local economy and provide cross-sectoral benefits in
areas of public health, economy, education and the environment to achieve the

following objectives:

a) Ensure that proper health and nutrition information are given to

school children throughout their childhood years;

b) Improve child nutrition by focusing on creating a health food
environment in schools and early care educational institutions:

©) Support and influence children’s development towards healthy
eating habits through proper education on good food sources and teach them

how to make informed food choices, such as preferences for fruits and

vegetables:

d) Establish and maintain school gardens as accessible and readily-
available sources of healthy and nutritious vegetables and food for school
children;

e) Ensure access of students to healthy and nutritious food through
supplementary school-based feeding programs to mitigate malnourishment
among school children; and

f) Enhance the general well-being of the community by encouraging

schools, their students and their families to purchase from local producers of

healthy and nutritious foods at the same time stimulating local economies and


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providing economic development opportunities to local food producers and

laborers, distributors, proces:

ors and others who support the local food system.

SEC. 3. Farm to School Program. ~ To carry the out the policy
mentioned under Section 2 of this Act, there shall be established a Farm to
School Program through which primary and secondary schools provide
education to school children on food and nutrition, health and agriculture and
undertake activities to ensure the availability of and accessibility to safe,
healthy, nutritious and locally produced agricultural food products in school.
‘The Farm to School Program shall have the following components:

a) In-School Farm Program;

b) National School Feeding Program; and

c) | Farm Visit

Program

For the purpose of this Act, “farm to school program” refers to an
alternative approach of enriching the connection that school communities have
with fresh and healthy agricultural food and their local producers by educating
and undertaking experiential learning activities with the goal of improving the
nutrition and food purchasing practices of children and at the same time
strengthening the local economy. It includes health and nutrition promotion
through integrated academic lesson on vegetable production, farming and

animal r

uring as well as hands-on and practical application through in-school

projects and out-of-school excursions, provision for supplementary nourishment


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for school children, sectoral collaboration and partnership with community
organizations.

SEC. 4. In-School Farm Program. — As one major component of Farm
to School Program, the Department of Education (DepEd) shall establish and
maintain an in-school farm or garden in every primary and secondary school
and implement an In-School Farm Program to:

a) — Establish and promote vegetable production in public elementary
and secondary schools;

b) Serve as a hands-on educational laboratory in teaching agriculture
and agricultural concepts; and

c) Raise the awareness of school children on the nutritional and health
value of agricultural food products and instill the importance of good health,
proper nutrition, and hard work,

The DepEd shall be the lead agency in the implementation of the in-
school farm program and shall formulate a guideline of requirements in the
implementation of the program. The DepEd shall structure a timetable to
ensure that primary and secondary schools have their own garden for healthy
fruits and vegetables.

In line with this, the DepEd shall closely coordinate with the Department
of Agriculture, the National Nutrition Council, the Department of the Interior

and Local Government (DILG) and local government units (LGUs) for the


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construction and funding requirements necessary in the proper implementation
of the program.

SEC.

Role of the Department of Agriculture, ~ The Department of
Agriculture shall identify and accredit farmer organizations and cooperatives

who may supply the provisions for gardening. It shall also provide technology

and technical assistance and conduct trainings and seminars to teach students,
teachers and parents about school gardening.

SEC. 6, Role of the National Nutrition Council. — The National
Nutrition Council shall provide a list of preferred vegetables that help address
malnutrition problems in schools that prioritize planting.

SEC. 7. Role of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The Department Interior and Local Government and the local government
units shall assist the schools by providing idle government lands and land
resources to be used in the in-school farm program.

SEC. 8. Inclusion of Vegetable Production in Academic Curriculum. —
Subjects and lessons in vegetable production shall be included in the academic
curriculum for primary and secondary level students of both public and private
schools to develop the skills and knowledge in vegetable production and

promote agricultural lite

SEC. 9. Product Utilization. Products from in-school farm program

shall be primarily used for the national school feeding program. Surplus


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vegetables may be sold to generate income for the purchase of other food
supplies for the national school feeding program or additional resources for the
improvement of the school gardens.

’. 10. National School Feeding Program (NSFP). ~ The National

St
School Feeding Program is hereby established as an alternative approach of
providing free supplementary meals to students, ‘The DepEd shall design a
program menu using the product from the in-school farm program and other
healthy foods sold by local producers

In coordination with the DepEd, the following national government
agencies are tasked to make available such resources as may be necessary to
ensure the successful implementation of the NSFP:

a) _ The DA and the National Food Authority shall tap farmers
associations and cooperatives in the locality for possible sources of food
supplies and shall share with the DepEd any available resources and facilities
that may be used for the NSFP;

b) The DILG shall enlist the support of LGUs as DepEd partners in

the operation of the NSFP, including the possibility of utilizing the services of

barangay nutrition scholars and barangay health workers; and

c) The National Nutrition Council, in coordination with the Food and

Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), shall provide the menu consisting of a


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combination of foods that meet the recommended energy and nutrient intake of
children and use locally produced food and food products as far as possible.

SEC. 1. Priority LGUs, ~ In case of shortage of funds, priority in the
implementation of the NSEP shall be given to municipalities and cities which
are determined by the National Nutrition Council or by any competent
government agency to have high malnutrition rates.

SEC. 12. Participation of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). ~ The
DepEd shall promote the involvement of parents through the PTAs in the
planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the school feeding
program.

SEC. 13, Procurement, Storage and Handling System. — The
procurement, storage and handling of appropriate food supplies by the
DepEd shall be upon the recommendation of the National Nutrition Council, the
FNRI and other appropriate government agencies.

In the procurement process, priority shall be given to the utilization of

locally produced food supplies, as well as the products of the in-school farm
program and the products of community gardens as part of convergence efforts
to increase food supplies at the local level.

The DepEd shall issue the guidelines necessary for the effective

implementation of the procurement, storage and handling system.



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SEC, 14, Farm Visits Program. — The DepEd shall require that at least
25% of educational tours and field trips to be conducted by public and private
primary and secondary schools every academic year shall be devoted to local
farms and factories of local food producers or in those places involved in the
planting, growing, harvesting, processing, packaging or distribution of food
products from agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries; this also includes those
involved in the raising, rearing or of animals and livestock including pork, beef,
poultry, and other farm animals.

This further includes Farm Tourism Camps, as defined in RA 10816,
which refer to any farm area that allows visitors and tourists to visit, get
involved in farm activities, and to enjoy and learn rural lifestyle.

SEC, 15. Monitoring and Evaluation System. — The DepEd shall
establish a monitoring and evaluation system for the nationwide implementation

of the Farm To School Program, which shall incorporate periodic reports from

the schools division and regional offices. The report provides, among othe
the needed information that may determine whether or not the program has
achieved its objectives, including the identification of issues and constraints as

well as the corresponding appropriate recommendations.

16, Appropriations. — The amount necessary for the initial

implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current appropriation of


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the DepEd. Thereafter, such sum as may be nec

y for its continued
implementation shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC

17, Implementing Rules and Regulations, ~ Within ninety (90)

days from the approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall, in

coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and consultation with the heads.

of government agencies, formulate the ne

essary rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act,

SEC. 18. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in
full force and effect,

SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or amended accordingly

SEC. 20. Effeetivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) da

s after

its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,