Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6472
HOUSE BILL NO.

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE CAMILLE A. VILLAR

AN ACT
ADDRESSING FOOD SECURITY CONCERNS THROUGH
INTEGRATING INSTRUCTIONAL GARDENS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL CURRICULA AND PROMOTING THE USE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The State is mandated to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them (Section 15, Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution).

One of the goals of the government is to be food self-sufficient. However, with rapid population
growth and industrialization, this objective may be hard to realize -- many are still experiencing
hunger and malnutrition.

The Philippines has an estimated population of 105 million and urban areas have the highest
concentration. In 2007, the Department of Education (DepEd) introduced 'Gulayan sa Paaralan,”
a concept where students in public elementary and secondary schools set up their own farms
inside their campus, in support of the school-based feeding program.

Research suggests that school gardens are an important tool to motivate kids and stimulate
learning in classrooms. In a study conducted by the University of Maryland among school
gardens in Washington, D.C., USA, researchers noted ‘numerous positive effects’ of so-called
garden-based learning on fifth-grade students."

For reading, 61 percent of students in garden schools scored “proficient or advanced,” compared
with 38 percent in schools without gardens. For math, the difference was 56 percent compared
with 36 percent, and for science, 47 percent against 21 percent?

* Ray, R., et. Al. “School Gardens in the City: Does environmental equity help close the achievement gap?” pp. 384-
388. University of Maryland-University Libraries. 2016. Downloaded from www.cambridge.org/core
* Ibid.


Clearly, urban agriculture has become an interesting topic not only in schools but also in
communities and non-profit organizations all over the world in efforts to sustain food security
and develop livelihoods.

This bill seeks to institutionalize and strengthen DepEd's 'Gulayan sa Paaralan." The concepts of
urban agriculture, vertical farming will be integrated in the curriculum of both public and
private institutions.

Local governments, for their part, will also be mandated to grant incentives for urban agriculture
efforts in their areas, while tax perks await grants, endowments, donations, or contributions
and technical assistance provided by private individuals or corporations to schools for the
promotion and implementation of institutional gardens in schools.

Once this bill is enacted, this program could address food security concerns and might even
drum up the youth's interest in agriculture or ecology, among other subjects that kids might
come across when taking care of their ‘farms." Young minds are not only introduced to a concept
that urban spaces have never been set up in the first place, but it is also an essential platform for
connecting them to nature and investing for their future.

As such, approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

Yyullr,
CAMILLE A. VILLAR


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6472
HOUSE BILL NO.__

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE CAMILLE A. VILLAR

AN ACT
ADDRESSING FOOD SECURITY CONCERNS THROUGH
INTEGRATING INSTRUCTIONAL GARDENS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL CURRICULA AND PROMOTING THE USE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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 ‘Instructional Gardens and Urban
Agriculture Act of 2020."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It shall be the policy of the State to promote food security, food
quality and improved health; fight hunger and malnutrition and poverty; and improve quality of
environment through greening, reduction in pollution, and creation of savings in household
expenditures. Towards this end, key reforms for the development of appropriate, cost-effective,
and environmentally safe agricultural practices are hereby encouraged in order to ensure the
food security of the country.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined as
follows:

a) Instructional Gardens refer to a program of instruction in all elementary and secondary
schools, where knowledge and skills, not only in urban agriculture and vertical farming, but in
agricultural food production in general, are imparted to school children through relevant
theories and actual engagement in agricultural cultivation/production. The theories and actual
production shall revolve around the concepts of composting, waste management techniques,
healthy and nutritious farm produce, sustainable farm practices, among others.


b) Urban Agriculture refers to the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing of food in
or around a village, town or city. Urban agriculture also involves animal husbandry, aquaculture,
agro-forestry and horticulture.

©) Vertical Farming refers to the method of farming that is brought to the urban space by
employing the concepts of indoor agriculture in sky scrapers and other modern buildings.

SEC. 4. Promotion of and Comprehensive Research on Urban Agriculture and Vertical
Farming, - For purposes of this Act, the respective Secretaries of the Department of Agriculture
(DA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are hereby mandated to promote
the use of urban agriculture and vertical farming in the country's urban areas and in other areas
in the country where such farming methods are suited, as an intervention mechanism for further
addressing food security concerns of the country.

Idle and/or abandoned government lots and buildings owned by either the national government
or local governments or available land resources in state universities and colleges shall be
considered for growing crops, raising livestock, and producing food using the said methods.

SEC. 5. Institutionalization of Instructional Gardens in School Curricula. - Instructional
Gardens program shall be integrated in the academic curricula for elementary and secondary
level students of both public and private academic institutions, particularly in subjects in
Agriculture, Practical Arts, Home Economics, and/or other related subjects.

The Department of Education (DepEd), in coordination with the Department of Agriculture,
shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Section
within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 6. Local Government Units’ Participation. - Local
government units shall formulate a policy on the practice of urban agriculture and vertical
farming, utilizing unused spaces and idle lands. This shall require the enactment of local
legislation institutionalizing urban agriculture in all levels of the LGU. Local government units
shall also grant necessary incentives to their constituents who actively participate in urban
farming activities.

SEC. 7. Tax Incentives. - All allocations of grants, endowments, donations, or contributions and
technical assistance provided by private individuals or corporations to schools for the
promotion and implementation of Institutional Gardens in the school curricula, as certified by
the DepEd, shall be exempt from taxes and duties.

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - Within six (6) months from the
effectivity of this Act, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Science and
Technology shall promulgate the necessary IRR to implement the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be
included and incorporated in the annual general appropriations of the Department of
Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, and the Department of Education.


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Seavanuaswne

SEC. 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.
SEC. Il. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, presidential
proclamations, rules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this Act
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of general circulation or in the Official Gazette.

Approved,