The Quezon City local government has partnered with the CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative to boost and promote sustainable food production.
Mayor Joy Belmonte also said the move also seeks to help ensure food security for Quezon City’s 3.2 million population.
“We want to boost urban farming so that when vegetable prices from the provinces go up, we would be less affected,” she told the Manila Standard.
The city government and CGIAR Resilient Cities Initiative have recently inked a partnership through a memorandum of agreement to promote food security and work together to further beef up food security.
Apart from developing and implementing new technologies, the agreement would also help improve access to markets and strengthen the capacity of local farmers to adapt to challenges.
“CGIAR’s engagement with the Quezon City government brings forward a governance approach that relies on grassroots data gathering,” Belmonte said.
The arrangement would also help enhance the city’s current best practices in improving food systems, and “bring us closer to the goal of becoming food secure and resilient through our Grow QC and Joy of Urban Farming programs,” she added.
The partnership shall establish the first-ever Vendor Business School program, which aims to help vendors in Quezon City by equipping them with the right tools and knowledge to scale up their enterprisesand livelihoods.
The city mayor has partnered with various organizations to craft sound policies and create impactful and meaningful programs for a more sustainable and resilient city that will improve the welfare of 3.2 million QCitizens.