Feature: Vegetable Garden floats in Agusan Marsh
Leave no one behind.
This is the motivating factor of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga to extend its services even to the hard-to-reach areas making agriculture interventions accessible to the people.
On October 13, 2022, a plant nursery for a floating garden was successfully installed in a wetland area in Barangay Sabang Gibong, Talacogon, Agusan del Sur, an area commonly known as Agusan Marsh.
The intervention was made after the evaluation of the said area was
identified as a possible site for vegetable production that could give
additional livelihood for the marshland community.
Materials for the garden were given to the Indigenous People (IP)
including net, bamboo, ropes, seeds, seedling trays, plastic mulch, and
sprinklers by the joint support of the DA-Regional Agricultural Engineering
Division (RAED), High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), Organic
Agriculture (OA), Agusan del Sur Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU), and
Talacogon Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO).
DA-Caraga technical experts conducted an orientation for the residents
to introduce innovations in crops and livestock production in the area and
train them on how to make a floating garden.
The DA-Caraga allocated P175,000 pesos for the 50 units of the floating
garden to be established in the area using different methods of floaters.
Initially, 10 units were already planted with bell pepper and pechay.
The DA team will revisit for more assistance and guidance to the farmers until
the completion of the project; from planting, harvesting, and to marketing.
The agency will ensure a sustainable livelihood for them despite
the challenge of climate change since they have been experiencing floods for
months, with no permanent agricultural land suitable for cultivation.
This intervention is also part of the agency’s
contribution to the conservation
efforts of the area’s biodiversity.
Agusan Marsh is one of the most ecologically significant wetlands in the
Philippines, a protected area in Agusan del Sur declared during the time of former President Fidel V. Ramos.
Within its lakes, several floating communities can be found. During the wet season, it is a large single swamp while in dry season, it turns into a series of interconnected rivers and isolated swamps and lakes with the Agusan River flowing through the center. (Lovely Joy L. Saludez/DA-Caraga)
