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| Republic of the Philippines & RECE IVED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES a ul -
Quezon City DATE
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NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 1730

Introduced by: HON. RUTH MARIANO-HERNANDEZ

AN ACT
PROMOTING INTEGRATED URBAN AGRICULTURE IN URBAN AREAS NATIONWIDE TO
ADDRESS FOOD SECURITY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

| EXPLANATORY NOTE
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This bill aims to promote agriculture in all urban areas of the country to help address the
burgeoning need to expand bcal food production for our nation to attain food security in
the bng term.

This bill was first filed by former AGRI Party-list Rep. Orestes Salon in the 17% Congress as
House Bill 4337. This Representation filed her own version as House Bill 5640 in the 18%
Congress. House Bill 5640 was consolidated into House Bill 8385 that was approved by
the House on February 2, 2021 and transmitted to the Senate on February 3, 2021. The
measure was overtaken by the recent May 2022 elections, hence the refiling of this bill.

The achievement of self-sufficiency and sustainability in food production and food security
is paramount for the country as it is the policy of the State to promote the fundamental
right of every person to adequate food and be free from hunger.

‘Toward this end, the State shall modern, appropriate, cost-effective and environmentally-
safe agricultural technologies to ensure food security, promote a healthy citizenry, and
advance an improved quality of life.

‘The measure defines urban agriculture as the development paradigm that encompasses

principles, management, technologies, and the policies relating to the practice and
pplication pt agricultural production of food in urban areas.

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The bill provides that urban agriculture shall apply to all urban spaces such as idle,
government or private lots or buildings, available land resources in state or private
universities and colleges suitable for growing crops and raising poultry and livestock, and
for agriculture.

Itis imperative that a policy platform to achieve food security is enacted by Congress
considering that the Philippines ranked 64th out of 113 countries in the 2021 Global Food
Security Indlex (GFSI) released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The GFSI offers a mechanism to assess the level of food security in four dimensions in 113
countries, Food security, as defined in the 1996 World Food Summit, is the state in which
people have the physical, social and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food that
meets their dietary needs for a healthy and active life at all times.

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The GFSI measures food security in terms of food affordability, availability, quality and
safety, and natural resources and resilience.

It is hoped that the country can attain food security - a situation wherein sufficient, safe,

and pucriepi food is accessible and affordable at all times - with the passage of this bill.

The immediate passage of this bill is hereby earnestly sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1730

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: HON. RUTH MARIANO-HERNANDEZ

AN ACT
PROMOTING INTEGRATED URBAN AGRICULTURE IN URBAN AREAS NATIONWIDE TO
ADDRESS FOOD SECURITY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION + Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Integrated Urban Agriculture Act’.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The State shall promote and protect the fundamental right of
every person to adequate food and freedom from hunger. Recognizing the challenges to
food security and ecobgical balance in urban areas, the State shall optimize the use and
productivity of urban land resources and spaces to support sufficient and sustainable food
production, Towards this end, the State shall promote the devebpment of modern, cost
effective, space-efficient, and environmentally-safe agriculture technobgies in urban areas
to contribute in achieving sustainable food production and food security, ensure adequate
nutrition and public health, and improve the quality of life of urban populations.
Accordingly, the State shall ensure the integration of principles, strategies and technobgies
on urban agriculture in urban planning.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act

(a) Community gardens refer to any piece of land cultivated by a group of people
using either individual or shared pbts on public or private nd with the consent
of the owner, to produce edibles, such as herbs, vegetables, fruits or ornamentab.
Community gardens may be found in neighborhoods and schoo, or connected to

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igtatons such as hospitals or bcated on the grounds or roofs of shared housing,
such as, but not limited to, tenements and apartment complexes;

(Feed security refers to a situation wherein all people have access to sufficient,
safe, nutritious food, at all times, to maintain a healthy and active life;

(©) Food system refers to a complex web of activities involving the production,
processing, transport, and consumption of food. Issues concerning the food system
include the governance and economics of food production, its sustainability, the

e to which we waste food how food production affects the natural
environment and the impact of food on individual and population health;

(4) Idie lands refer to non-agricultural nds in urban and urbanizabk areas on which
improvements have been made by the owner, as certified by the city, municipal
or, provincial assessor. Ide government lands refer to ands owned by any
government entity that have been idle and have not been used for the purpose for
which they have been reserved for the past 10 years;

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(e) Integrated urban agriculture refers to the development paradigm that
encompasses principles, management technologies, and the policies relating to the
practice and application of agricultural production of food and goods in urban
areas;

t, interact and intertwine, usually bcated between city and countryside. Peri-
‘ban areas are semi-dense clusters with a density of at east 300 inhabitants per
juare kibmeter and a populttion of 5,000 or more but are neither contiguous
ith nor within two (2) kilometers of an urban area;

(A mes es areas refer to areas where urban and rural features and processes

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(g) Social preparation refers to the series of activities designed to prepare the
underprivileged and homekss families to cope with the changes brought about by
government development projects;

(h) Urban areas shall refer to any of the following, per PSA Resolution No. 01, Series
of 2017-098:
- | Ifa barangay has a population size of 5,000 or more;
-| If a barangay has at kast one establishment with a minimum of 100
empbyees;
- | Ifa barangay has 5 or more establishments with a minimum of 0 empbyee,
and 5 or more facilities within the two-kilbmeter radius from the barangay
hall;

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(i) Urban planning refers to multi-disciplinary art and science of analyzing,

specifying, chrifying, harmonizing, managing and regulating the use and
development of land and water resources, in relation to their environs, for the



deyelpment of sustainable communities and ecosystems in urban and
urbanizabke areas;

(0) Urbantzable areas refer to sites and lands which, considering the present
characteristics and prevailing conditions, dispky marked and great potential of
becoming urban areas within the period of five (5) years; and

(k) Vertical farming refers to the method or practice of indoor agriculture, or
growing produce in vertically stacked kyers in skyscrapers and modern builings
using geoponic, hydroponic or aeroponic growing methods.

SEC. 4. Coverage. This Act shall cover ide or abandoned government or private lands,
subdivisions /villages, public housing, open spaces in all urban, peri-urban and urbanizable
areas in the country; and all avaible and appropriate lind resources in state or private
universities and colleges, and military camps suitable for growing crops and raising poultry,
livestock and aquaculture.

SEC. 5. Community Gardening and Vertical Farming. Local government units shall
identify and develop ide government and/or private lands, without prejudice to the rights
of owners of private ands, and open spaces, including roofs of buildings, within their
jurisdiction, for full or partial conversion to community gardens and/or vertical farms to
support food security and nutrition; Provided That, spaces albcated for urban agriculture
shall not be prime lots. LGUs, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and
the Cooperative Development Authority, shall capacitate neighborhood associations and
peope's organizations, and/or facilitate the organization and registration of community-
based cooperatives, to undertake community gardening.

‘The Department of Human Settkments and Urban Development (DHSUD) shall ensure the
provision of adequate spaces for community gardens and/or vertical farms in the design
and development of subdivision, condominium and public housing projects. Towards this
end, the DHSUD, in coordination with the DA, shall capacitate homeowners’ association to
undertake community gardening and/or vertical farming.

The DA shalll provide the necessary technical assistance and support services, including the
provision of seeds and seedlings and gardening took, access to bans from government
financial institutions, and agricultural training, to ensure the full productivity of community
gardens and vertical farms.

The DA, in coordination with the Department of Science and Technolgy, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Energy, shall ao undertake
the establishment of rainwater harvesting facilities, renewabk energy systems and solid
waste management systems, including waste-to-energy facilities, to provide sustainable
supply of water, energy and compost to community gardens and vertical farms.

SEC. 6. Urban Agriculture in Urban Planning. The DHSUD, in coordination with the DA,
shall ensure the integration of concepts and principks of urban agriculture and its

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relationship to other processes in the food system in urban planning. Accordingly, the
DHSUD and DA shall promote sustainable, smart and organic food production systems that
harness oy benefits of new technobgies and methods in soil, nutrient, water and energy
management, such as composting, rainwater harvesting and utilization of renewable
energy. The DHSUD shall ako ensure the rational use of land resources in urban plnning to
promote sustainabk peri-urban interface, as well as for the spatial requirements of supply
chain management and bgistics to strengthen urban-rural foodshed linkages.

Towards these ends, the DHSUD shall promulgate guidelines for the harmonization of
Comprehensive Land Use Phns and zoning ordinances of bcal government units with
urban agriculture policies, frameworks, strategies and standards.

LGUs are |hereby mandated to incorporate urban agricultural development in their
respective Annual Develbpment Plans, Annual Investment Plus, Physical Framework Plans,
and Development Master Pans.

LGUs, with the assistance of the DA, Department of Interior and Local Government and the
Department of Information and Communications Technolgy, shall establish and maintain a
digital information system to facilitate the efficient collection, management and analysis of
urban food system, agriculture and nutrition data, as well as monitoring and evaluation of
LGU performance vis-a-vis food system, agriculture and nutrition targets, to inform local
planning, policy-making and programming, and to ensure open public access to data.

SEC. 7. Urban Agriculture Education. Urban agriculture shall be integrated in the
academic ¢urriculum for ekmentary, secondary and tertiary level students of both public
and private academic institutions offering courses in Agriculture, Practical Arts, Home
Economics and/or other subjects related to agriculture, A course curriculum on gardening
shall be developed and included in the regular curriculum of eementary and secondary
education. Instructional materials shall likewise be developed.

The Department of Education shall strengthen the impkmentation of Gulayan sa Paaralan
Program in elementary and secondary schook, establishing school gardens to ensure
continuous supply of vegetables for school feeding, in accordance with Republic Act No.
11037, entitled ‘An Act Institutionalizing a National Feeding Program for Undernourished
Children in Public Day Care, Kindergarten and Ekmentary Schoo to Combat Hunger and
Undernutrition among Filipino Chiliren and Appropriating Funds Therefor’

For universities and colleges, urban agriculture shall form part of the required period of
time spent by students in the National Service Training Program or the Citizens’ Military
Training. A plan for the utilization or maximization of space occupied by school shall be
formulted specifically for urban agricukure purposes.

SEC. 8. Research and Development. The DA and the Department of Science and
Technobgy, as well as relevant state universities, government research and develbpment
institutions, and the private sector, shall intensify research on methods and technobgies to
support urban agriculture, including the development and operation of demonstration

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urban community gardens and vertical farms.

owners with Section 5 of this Act may qualify them for incentives provided for under
Republic Act No. 1071, entitled ‘An Act Promoting the Creation of Green Jobs, Granting
Incentives and Appropriating Funds Therefor’, subject to ruks and regulations promulgated
by the Department of Finance and the DHSUD.

SEC. 9. ny Sc Compliance by subdivision and condominium developers and/or

The commitment and performance of LGUs in the impkmentation of this Act shall be
included in the criteria for the awarding of the Seal of Good Local Governance and the
provision of incentives, provided for under Republic Act No. 11292, entited ‘An Act
Exel and Institutionalizing the Seal of Good Local Governance for Local Government
Units, and Allocating for this Purpose the Seal of Good Local Governance Fund.

Loans extended by government and private banks to participating individuaks, corporations
and partnetships shall be treated as compliance to Republic Act No. 10000, entitled An Act
Providing for an Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Credit and Financing System through
Banking Institutions’

SEC. 10. Inter-Agency Coordination. There is hereby established a National Convergence
Program oh Urban Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture is hereby designated as the
Lead Implementing Agency and the Secretariat of the Convergence Program. The following
agencies shall perform duties and responsibilities in order to devebp and sustain
concerted action to promote urban agriculture:

a) The Department of Agriculture shall provide technical assistance and support
setvices to cal government units, community-based cooperatives, homeowners’
associations, neighborhood associations and peopk's organizations to ensure the
viiey and costeffectiveness of urban agriculture projects;

b) The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Develbpment shall ensure the
integration of urban agriculture principles, policies, strategies, frameworks and
standards in the design and development of subdivision, condominium and public
housing projects, and in the preparation or updating of development and
investment plans, CLUPs and zoning ordinances of LGUs, promulgate rules thereof
and monitor their compliance therewith. The DHSUD shall provide assistance to
homeowners’ associations to strengthen their capacity to undertake urban
agriculture projects in their neighborhoods and communities;

c) The Department of Interior and Local Government shall monitor the compliance of
LGUs with the provisions of this Act in order to determine their qualification for
ae provided for under Republic Act No. 11292;

4d) The Department of Education (DepEd) shall integrate the principks and practice of
urban agriculture into primary and secondary education curricula, including the
establishment of school gardens under the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program. DepEd

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shal ensure the adequate training of teachers and the development of appropriate
instructional materials for this purpose;

e) Department of Science and Technobgy shall conduct research on modern, cost-
effective methods and technobgies to support urban agricultural production, as
well as postharvest handling of surplus produce from urban agriculture projects;

£) Department of Trade and Industry shall provide technical assistance in processing
and packaging of surplus produce from urban agriculture projects and ensure
ac¢ess of cal government units, cooperatives, homeowners’ associations, and
peopk’s organizations to markets;

g) Department of Finance shall administer the grant of incentives under Section 9 of
this Act to qualified persons based on their compliance to Section 5 of this Act;

h) Department of Budget and Management shall ensure adequate funding for the
functions and programs provided for by under this Act;

i) The Commission on Higher Education shall develop and implement curriculum and
relited standards and instructional materials in support of urban agriculture;

j) The Cooperative Development Authority shall provide guidance and assistance to
LGUs in the development of cooperatives within their jurisdiction;

k) The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor shall undertake social preparation
activities to encourage participation and empower poor and underprivileged
communities from the preparation and pknning to implementation and evaluation
of urban devebpment projects; and,

1) Philippine Information Agency shall undertake a nationwide information campaign,
utilizing all forms of media, to raise awareness and encourage participation of the
public in the impkementation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Periodic report to Congress. The Department of Agriculture and partner
agencies in the National Convergence Program on Urban Agriculture shall submit annual
performance reports to Congress.

SEC. 12. Appropriations. The funds necessary to carry out the initial impkmentation of
this Act shall be charged against the respective budgets of concerned agencies for the
current year. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation
of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within six (6) months from the effectivity
of this Act, the agencies under the National Convergence Program on Urban Agriculture
shall promulgate the necessary implementing rus and regulations to implement the
provisions of this Act.



SEC. 14. Separability Clause. If any part or provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or
invalid, other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected shall continue to remain in
full force and effect.

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SEC. 15. Repealing Clause. All ws, executive orders, issuances, rules and regulations

inconsistent with this Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,