Provincial Nutritionist Maria Ana Uy said the local government formally adopted the technology as a measure to help ease the problems on malnutrition among children and the proliferation of food products that are exposed to various chemicals in the markets.
Uy said Faith technology primarily advocates the development of a simple backyard garden in every home and the production of organically-grown or chemical-free vegetables.
“We realized that a family can be assured of their everyday food through a simple backyard garden, which is very applicable in every household,” she said.
Uy said the local government initially sponsored a training for nutrition officers of the province’s 10 towns and lone city at the Mt. Carmel Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, where the technology was first introduced more than three decades ago.
The two-day hands-on training, attended by 26 local nutrition officers and personnel, was an eye opener for them, Uy said.
She said they realized various farming technologies such as composting and the production of organic fertilizers can be done at home.
“And we don’t need to have a big backyard to do it because we can even plant some vegetables in plastic and tin cans that usually end up with the household trash,” she said.
MBRLC, an agricultural training center established by the Southern Baptist Convention, introduced the Faith technology in 1974 as part of its religious mission among rural folks in southern and central Mindanao.
It developed the Faith technology to promote home gardening through simple but effective vegetable growing technologies.
As MBRLC conceptualized, a Faith garden in every home is envisioned to produce a continuous and sufficient supply of fresh vegetables every day.
“The availability of fresh fruits and vegetables will help sustain every child’s proper health and nutritional status,” Uy said.
Uy said the local government is considering institutionalizing the Faith initiative to further develop and expand its technologies.
She said they will conduct trainings for barangay nutrition scholars and volunteers who would be tapped as community trainors to transfer the technology to every household within their communities.
Uy said the newly-trained municipal nutrition officers were initially tasked to identifyl areas in their towns to pilot.
“We’re hoping that the Faith concept will eventually become a way of life for everyone because its benefits are tremendous. It can help augment our income at the same time ensure that we are consuming chemical-free vegetables and fruits,” she added.
Studies showed that while vegetables are easily grown in the Philippines, most Filipinos do not grow enough of them.
The country’s current average per capita consumption of green and yellow vegetables is only 12.4 kilograms, far short of the recommended allowance of 32.4 kilograms.(Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
