HOME GARDENING AND ECONOMIC LIFE OF SELECTED BARANGAYS OF

SALUG, ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE

KRISTY R. BANDICO

ROSEL B. SALE

JERELYN H. BAJAMUNDE

OMISARA A. ALIM

FRITCH I. MANGAN

JULIMER D. BAJA
 CHAPTER I

Introduction

Despite its significance and long history, urban agriculture receives significantly

lesser recognition by authorities in the developing countries for example in Africa than the

developed world. Most recently, however, there is increasing need to sustainably manage

urban farming in developing nations (FAO, 2017). Urban home gardening under urban

agriculture has played significant role in food security and generating household income.

Nevertheless, the ability of urban agriculture to continuously supply food for the urban poor

depends on better planning based on accurate geospatial information to enable sustainable

management of the practice (Addo, 2020).

There is no universal definition of home garden (Gautam et al., 2014). However,

Kumar and Nair (2014) defined home gardens to mean the intimate, multi-storey

combination of various trees and crops in association with domestic animals around

homestead. From an ecological and land use perspective, home gardens involve the

management of multipurpose trees, shrubs, annual and perennial agricultural crops, herbs,

spices, medicinal plants, fish prices and animals on the same land unit, in a spatial

arrangement or on a temporal sequence (Eyzaguirre & Linares, 2020).

The Philippines has been one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia Pacific

region. Average annual growth increased to 6.4% between 2010-2019 from an average of

4.5% between 2000-2009. With increasing urbanization, a growing middle class, and a large

and young population, the Philippines’ economic dynamism is rooted in strong consumer

demand supported by a vibrant labor market and robust remittances.

Business activities are buoyant with notable performance in the services sector

including business process outsourcing, real estate, tourism, and finance and insurance
industries. The Philippine economy has also made progress in delivering inclusive growth,

evidenced by a decline in poverty rates and its Gini coefficient. Poverty declined from 23.3%

in 2015 to 16.6% in 2018 while the Gini coefficient declined from 44.9 to 42.7 over the same

period.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and community quarantine measures imposed in

the country have severely impacted economic growth and poverty reduction. Growth

contracted significantly in 2020, driven by heavy declines in consumption and investment

growth, and exacerbated by the slowdown in tourism and remittances. Similarly, the

previous trend in real wages, which is expected to have a positive impact on household

incomes—particularly those from the lower income groups—has been severely hampered by

the impact of the COVID-19, with negative consequences also for poverty reduction in the

Philippines (World Bank, 2022).

Background of the Study

The municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte, composed of 23 barangays, with a

land area of 206.60 square kilometers or 79.77 square miles which constitutes 2.83% of

Zamboanga del Norte's total area. Its population as determined by the 2020 Census was

32,134. This represented 3.07% of the total population of Zamboanga del Norte province, or

0.83% of the overall population of the Zamboanga Peninsula region. Based on these figures,

the population density is computed at 156 inhabitants per square kilometer or 403 inhabitants

per square mile.

Almost all barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte’s various

economic activities are concentrated in the barangay hall or in the city main road where

schools, barangay hospitals, church and few business establishments are situated except
Barangay Ipilan, Santo Nino and Barangay Dipolod which are far from the center of

economic and business zone of the municipality.

The barangays are few kilometers away from the main political and business zone,

where activities are slower and laidback while support services are either insufficient or non-

existent. Population is denser in the main zone while the next neighbor at the outskirts is

more than 50 meters, and in between are trees and bushes but the usual sight are pasture

lands and mountainous terrain. Poverty is more prevalent also within these three barangays.

Socioeconomic status of the residents of the above-mentioned barangays is also

varied as manifested in their economic life, housing typology, nature of employment,

educational attainment of their working family members and household income. These

observations sprung interest to the researchers to examine the home gardening and economic

life and well-being of the residents in the three barangays.

Theoretical Framework of the Study

The study will be anchored on the following national mandates, relevant theories and

principles:

National Mandates

First, based on the national mandate, the National Government through the

Department of Agriculture’s objectives and thrust of food production and ensuring food

availability and affordability. The initiative is three-pronged: establish communal gardens

that will showcase sustainable urban farming, empower urban dwellers and families to grow

their own food through urban agriculture, and complement existing feeding programs of the
local government units (Department of Agriculture Memorandum Circular No. 6 series of

2018).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development mandated the promotion and

support of backyard bio-intensive gardening to promote food security in the household

where parents are encouraged to cultivate available land or explore urban or vertical

gardening in their residence to plant vegetables and fruits which are common produce in

their area to provide sustenance for their family. Local government units are encouraged to

coordinate with their stakeholders on the bio-intensive gardening approach and use of

indigenous vegetables and available seedlings that may be distributed (DSWD MC No. 35

series of 2020).

Relevant Theories and Principles

The study will also employ the standpoint of The Social Practice Theory which

explains the complexity and diversity of practices in which people participate is not

necessarily a burden but is an enriching aspect of life. By moving across settings of social

practice, people are able to pursue diverse concerns and become aware of new possibilities

for action and arrangements for participation in practice (Dreier, 2008). In addition, they are

confronted with dilemmas and contradictions that motivate change and learning (Engeström

& Sannino, 2010). People learn by adjusting their contributions to activities to one another

(O'Connor & Allen, 2010) and to fit the demands and structures of local institutions (Dreier,

2009). People also learn by inventing new ways to participate in practice, molding it into

new cultural forms through our participation (Calabrese et al., 2009; Gutiérrez et al., 2020).

In the same manner, The Social Practice Theory posits that existing institutional

structures of practice frame the choices people make about how and where to participate in
activities. Directing their learning pathways requires that people distribute their engagement

across different settings, according to the suitability of each setting’s institutional

arrangements for pursuing a particular concern and how the settings are linked to valued

practices in other settings (Dreier, 2008). These institutional arrangements themselves vary

with respect to roles and possibilities for action, requirements for access to those roles, and

persistent patterns of privilege, exclusion, and marginalization (Lave & McDermott, 2002).

On the other hand, The Household Production Theory of Becker (1965) clearly

exploits the aspects of the theory of a firm like comparative advantage, specialization and

human capital views of a household as a small factory that produces combined capital goods,

raw materials and labor to produce useful commodities.

Lastly, the study is also aligned with The Scarcity Theory of Lionel Robbins (1935)

which proposes that poverty itself induces a scarcity mindset, which subsequently forces the

poor into sub-optimal decisions and behaviors. Poverty leads to attentional focus and neglect

causing over-borrowing, (2) poverty induces trade-off thinking resulting in more consistent

consumption decisions, and (3) poverty reduces mental bandwidth and subsequently

increases time discounting and risk aversion. The Scarcity Theory also integrates insights

from cognitive psychology and economics and attempts to explain a wide range of behaviors

of the poor. The poor must make their decisions under severe financial conditions that

change the way they feel and think.

Conceptual Framework of the Study

Over the recent years there has been growing interest to strengthen and intensify local

food production to mitigate the adverse effect of food shocks and food price volatilities. The

concept of the study is to draw much attention towards home gardens as a strategy to
enhance household food security and nutrition. Home gardens are an integral part of local

food systems and the agricultural landscape of developing countries all over the world and

have endured the test of time.

Through a rigorous literature review, this study will contribute additional knowledge

of home gardens that will provide a global review of their social, economic, and

environmental contributions to communities in various socio-economic contexts. Many of

the compositions on home gardens share research and experiences of developing cities,

municipalities and barangays in the country. This study is conceptualized to recognize

positive impacts of home gardens towards addressing food insecurity and malnutrition as

well as providing additional benefits such as income and livelihood opportunities for

resource-poor families and delivering a number of ecosystem services.

However, only a handful of case studies were found on post-crisis settings. While

providing a general overview of some of these studies, this study investigates the home

garden experiences of the selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del

Norte, where home gardening has been practiced for centuries. While emphasizing multiple

benefits, we also highlight constraints to home garden food production. In conclusion, we

emphasize the need for more research and empirical data to appraise the role of home

gardens in crisis and post-crisis situations, as well as assessing their economic value and

their impacts on food security, nutrition, economic growth, and gender issues.
Schema of the Study

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLES

1. Barangay Ipilan Home Gardening

2. Barangay Dipolod Products
3. Barangay Sto. Nino

Respondents
Demographics

a) Gender
b) Age
c) Marital Status
d) Educational
Attainment
 Figure 1. The schematic concept of the study.

Statement of the Problem

This study is conducted to determine the home gardening and economic life of

selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Specifically, it will seek to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the socioeconomic profile of the respondents in terms of:

a) gender;

b) age;

c) marital status; and

d) educational attainment?

2. What are the home gardening products of the respondents?

3. What is the frequency of home gardening of the respondents?

4. What is the level of interest of the residents in terms of home gardening?

5. What is the socioeconomic life classification of the residents in terms of:

a) household monthly income?

In connection, the researchers were encouraged to conduct the study at selected far-

flung barangays namely, Barangay Sto. Nino, Barangay Ipilan and Barangay Dipolod.

Objectives of the Study

This research is mainly focused in determining the home gardening and economic

life of selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte. Specifically,

this study has the following main objectives:

 1. To identify the socioeconomic profile of the respondents.

2. To determine the home gardening products of the respondents.

3. To measure the frequency of home gardening of the respondents.

4. To determine the level of interest of the residents in terms of home gardening.

5. To determine the socioeconomic life classification of the respondents.

Null Hypothesis

Ho1: There is no significant relationship on the frequency and the level of interest on

home gardening to the socioeconomic life of the respondents of the selected barangays in the

municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Ho2: There is a significant relationship on the frequency and the level of interest on

home gardening to the socioeconomic life of the respondents of the selected barangays in the

municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Significance of the Study

Gardening remains the most important method of food production for a majority of

people in the developing world, yet high population density has put a lot of pressure on land

as more of it is required for settlement. This has led to land fragmentation, which has

negatively affected food production, hence, resulted in food insecurity. Food insecurity is a

concern today in many parts of the country.

Land use practices thus must be intensified to maximize food production on the small

land available. Home gardening has been identified as a means of providing all year-round
access to food for rural households. Home gardens can make a significant contribution in

meeting daily household needs for better nutrition and health.

The present study will be useful for the constituents of rural households and the

government for keeping in view the country’s current economic situation.

Moreover, the present study will provide an insight to the government to deal

effectively with their agricultural programs so that they will be able to develop an

understanding of the importance home gardening. This understanding will also assist the

barangay officials to create a more productive and sustainable agricultural programs for the

constituents.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

Scope Limitation. The focus of the study is to determine the home gardening and

economic life of selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte. The

data collection will be conducted to 25% of respondents of each selected barangays. The

study will not cover that are not considered relevant to the home gardening and economic

life of the respondents. The study would be done through the utilization of 5-part

questionnaire as a survey reference. The researchers believed that by using this method, they

will be able to to determine the home gardening and economic life of selected barangays of

the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Content Delimitation. The study will be conducted to determine the home gardening

and economic life of selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Subject Limitation. The study selected random respondents of three (3) selected

barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

 Place Delimitation. This study will be conducted at Barangay Sto. Nino, Barangay

Ipilan and Barangay Dipolod of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte.

Time Delimitation. The study will be conducted during the Second Semester of

Academic Year 2021-2022.

Definition of Terms

To understand deeper, the following terms are operationally defined according to

their significance and usage in the study conducted.

Gardening. It is the art or trade of caring for and cultivating a garden, understood as

the land where plants with ornamental motifs are grown (Gross & Lane 2017).

Food Insecurity. It is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every

person in a household to live an active, healthy life that can be a temporary situation for a

household or can last a long time (Lemengway, 2022).

Food Production. It is the preparation of food in which raw materials are converted

into ready-made food products for human use either in the home or in the food processing

industries processes are comprised of scientific approaches (Brody, 2016).

Food Scarcity. It is the shortage of food may happen when not enough food is

produced, such as when crops fail due to drought, pests, or too much moisture. The problem

can also result from the uneven distribution of natural resource endowment for a country,

and by human institutions, such as government and public policy (Pulido, 2021).

Household. It is the related family members and all the unrelated people, if any, such

as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit (Ryn et al.,

2020).
 Household Income. It is the total amount of money earned by every member of a

single household which may include wages, salaries, investment returns, retirement accounts,

and welfare payments and others (Galhena, 2018).

Poverty. It is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of

money or material possessions. It is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their

basic needs which requires a determination of what constitutes basic needs (Cobb, 2018).

Socioeconomic Status. It is the social standing or class of an individual or group that

is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation (Bartley, 2022).

Urban. It is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of

built environment that are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban

morphology as cities, towns, conurbations, or suburbs (Green, 2021).

 CHAPTER II

Related Literature

Most hungry and malnourished people live in developing countries under sub-

standard living conditions and over half a billion of the global population suffer from chronic

food insecurity. With the global population expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, there

will be a continuous need to increase food production and buffer stocks to meet the growing

demand and efficiently cope with volatilities in food production and prices. It has been

projected that global food production will need to increase by 70% to meet the average daily

caloric requirement of the world’s population in 2050.

Moreover, the need for interventions is stressed as the resources available for food

production - including land, water, labor and credit - are becoming scarce and costly. The

drive for agricultural innovation is further convoluted by the growing issues of climate

change and natural resource degradation.

Multiple strategies are required to address the issue of food production and food

security. The choice of feasible approaches hinges on the existing social, political, and

economic conditions and resources available to design and implement the intervention.

Home gardens are a time-tested local strategy that are widely adopted and practiced in

various circumstances by local communities with limited resources and institutional support.

It is evident from the literature that home gardens are a part of the agriculture and food
production systems in many developing countries and are widely used as a remedy to

alleviate hunger and malnutrition in the face of a global food crisis.

Globally, home gardens have been documented as an important supplemental source

contributing to food and nutritional security and livelihoods. Food production on small plots

adjacent to human settlements is the oldest and most enduring form of cultivation. For

centuries, home gardens have been an integral component of family farming and local food

systems. Home gardening is an ancient and widespread practice all over the world. In the

literature, home gardens are classified as mixed, kitchen, backyard, farmyard, compound, or

homestead garden.

Home gardens are found in both rural and urban areas in predominantly small-scale

subsistence agricultural systems. The very beginning of modern agriculture can be dated

back to subsistence production systems that began in small garden plots around the

household.

These gardens have persistently endured the test of time and continue to play an

important role in providing food and income for the family. Since the early studies of home

gardens in the 1930s by the Dutch scholars Osche and Terra on mixed gardens in Java,

Indonesia, there has been extensive contributions to the subject synthesizing definitions,

species inventories, functions, structural characteristics, composition, socio-economic, and

cultural relevance. Home gardens are defined in multiple ways highlighting various aspects

based on the context or emphasis and objectives of the research Gupta (2022) pointed out

that the background and gender of the researcher or scientist may also bias their perception

on home gardens and may not entirely reflect the opinion of the family involved in home

gardening activities.
 Relying on research and observations on home gardens in developing and developed

countries in five continents, Ninez (2022) formulated the following definition:

a) The household garden is a small-scale production system supplying plant and

animal consumption and utilitarian items either not obtainable, affordable, or

readily available through retail markets, field cultivation, hunting, gathering,

fishing, and wage earning. Household gardens tend to be located close to

dwelling for security, convenience, and special care.

b) They occupy land marginal to field production and labor marginal to major

household economic activities. Featuring ecologically adapted and

complementary species, household gardens are marked by low capital input and

simple technology.

c) Generally, home gardening refers to the cultivation of a small portion of land

which may be around the household or within walking distance from the family

home. Home gardens can be described as a mixed cropping system that

encompasses vegetables, fruits, plantation crops, spices, herbs, ornamental and

medicinal plants as well as livestock that can serve as a supplementary source

of food and income.

Fresco and Westphal (2021) specify home gardens as a cropping system composed of

soil, crops, weeds, pathogens, and insects that converts resource inputs - solar energy, water,

nutrients, labor, etc. - into food, feed, fuel, fiber and pharmaceuticals. Kumar and Nair

(2019), while acknowledging that there is no standard definition for a home garden,

summarize the shared perception by referring to it as an intimate, multi-story combinations

of various trees and crops, sometimes in association with domestic animals, around
homesteads, and add that home garden cultivation is fully or partially committed for

vegetables, fruits, and herbs primarily for domestic consumption.

Adding to this, others have described a home garden as a well-defined, multi-storied

and multi-use area near the family dwelling that serves as a small-scale supplementary food

production system maintained by the household members, and one that encompasses a

diverse array of plant and animal species that mimics the natural ecosystem.

Gardening in Philippine Historical Context

Though household gardening has not been a widely studied theme of sociological

inquiry, it has received considerable attention in other forums. Seaton (2019) asserts that

gardening has a rich and complex history within the United States. Becker (2022) echoes this

notion, adding that the history of the home garden is complex because of the ebb and flow of

produce grown in the garden and the number of people participating in the activity. Overall,

Seaton suggests that the idyllic draw of the garden has maintained it as an important part of

our cultural heritage.

The transfer of plants from one location to another has been occurring for as long as

plants have existed. Human actions accelerated this transference as civilizations made the

move from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one based on agricultural. In Europe, for

example, where the historic boundaries of countries were quite fluid, plants were easily

moved to new locations.

For many generations, small plots of land near the homestead have been used as

home gardens while livestock keeping has also been practiced in the Philippines. This has
been done to facilitate direct access by households, to a diversity of nutritionally rich foods,

which include roots, tubers, green leafy vegetables, condiments, nuts, legumes, fruits, and

livestock products.

Whereas the practice of home gardening is a supplementary food production system

and not the household’s primary source of food, it is increasingly becoming popular with

households as the size of land for food production continues to reduce. While developed

countries exhibit high technological advancement in food production, gardening remains the

most important method of food production for most people in developing countries,

Philippines included. Research findings on food production in the Philippines have shown

that over the last decade there has been a decline in food production, while the population

size has been increasing.

This has created a food gap, with 89% Filipinos being food poor and a majority of

these people being in the rural areas. The issue of concern is why this is happening despite

the focus of the country’s food policy being to encourage food self-sufficiency as the means

of achieving food security.

Definition and Classifications of Home Garden

Silva (2021) defined home gardens as relatively small, cultivated plots usually

devoted in whole or in part to the growing of herbs, fruits or vegetables for household

consumption. Although they can be defined in this way, they vary in terms of the plants

grown, the productivity and style of the garden and who participates in caring for the garden.

In fact, because of this potential variation, gardens can be identified primarily by

their function, rather than their form, location, size, or the types of crops grown. Whether
controlled by the household or by an individual in the household, household gardens are

secondary sources of food and income, while field production, animal husbandry, wage

labor, professional services, or trading are the major sources of support. Thus, a garden is not

easily defined by its contents.

In the study of Langelotto (2018), the home garden is defined as a secondary source

of food and/or income. So, a home garden isn’t the same as a small organic farm that is the

primary source of income for the owners; a home garden is a secondary source of food or

income. These owners aren’t professional farmers nor devote their entire life to the

maintenance of these gardens. These small-scale gardens merit a deeper analysis, as they

form part of the local food movement. These gardens can be owned by anyone, from a single

mom who uses the herbs in her kitchen, to a whole family who spends their weekends

learning grandpa’s gardening secrets in the yard.

Home gardens can be divided into several main categories (Mazumdar, 2020). The

first is the kitchen garden, a small-scale garden in the backyard, typical of suburban

America. A second category is the community garden, a small-scale communally owned plot

or group of plots. The community garden is popular in urban areas. This style of garden

typically has individual plots for families or individuals but is owned and maintained by the

community. The last category is a small farm, under an acre maintained at a family house.

Although the typical image one has in mind is the tiny rows in the backyard, this garden type

can also refer to small container gardening as well.

Home Gardening in Philippine Urban Areas

In the urban setting, home gardens are typically manifested as community gardens as

opposed to individual property. So here it is easier for the political system to intervene.
Community gardens have been both bullied and supported by the political system. Operation

of community gardens assisted by the government had been practiced during Spanish

Colonization (Smith, 2021).

In the 1970s, gardens were constructed as a form of taking control of the vacant

spaces in several urban areas in Manila. Through formation of garden coalitions and the

manipulations of politics of scale, the home garden was saved, and recognized as something

that significantly contributes to life in the neighborhoods and the city.

In the study of Feng (2017), he elaborated that because of grassroots movements,

these community gardens were saved from being converted into high-rise housing. Creating

housing is always essential, especially as urban populations grow. But creating green spaces

is another important part of establishing a healthy city. Urban planners and policymakers

face tough decisions.

However, at an urban level, the garden can serve numerous benefits that make them a

valuable use of space. In terms of future planning, it is essential for planners and

policymakers to bear this in mind. Home gardens, or small-scale community gardens often

have to be “seized” by community members, as vacant lots that they reclaim as a

community. Urban policy can change to support this movement. Through zoning practices,

these empty spaces can be taken advantage of and utilized in urban farm projects.

Currently, these projects occur at a local level, run by small businesses and non-profit

organizations. If the government made policy to support these local organizations, they could

work within their own communities, utilizing their local knowledge to make a garden suited

to the needs of their communities.

Economic Development and Urbanization

Urbanization and the growth of urban slums are the two aspects to be considered

when examining the development of cities. The emergence of mega-cities, each with at least

10 million residents, is one of the distinct features of urbanization in Asia. These mega-cities

serve not only as magnets to internal migrants but also as entryways to international migrants

(Hugo, 2014).

Asia is one of the fast-growing regions in the world while Manila is one of the fast-

growing cities in Asia. Based on United Nations (UN) estimates, Manila’s population had

grown from 10.14 million in 2001 to 12.76 million in 2014 and is projected to grow to 16.76

million by 2030 (UN DESA, 2014). Based on the 2010 UN estimates (cited in Mohiddin,

Phelps, & Walters, 2012), 828 million urban dwellers in developing countries lived in slums

as compared to 767 million in 2000 and 657 million in 1990—growth that was arguably fast

over a 21-year period.

Consequently, urban poverty and the growth of urban slums are priority concerns of

governments and global institutions adopting urban agriculture as a key strategy to address

urban hunger. A parallel development is home gardening, which is an independent initiative

of households to address food and nutrition insecurity and to increase their incomes.

The Right to Food

According to the 1996 World Food Summit, food security is achieved at all levels—

individual, household, national, regional, and global—when all people, always, have

physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary

needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO, 2016).
 In the second World Food Summit in 2009, the four pillars of food security—

availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability—were identified: food availability refers

to the physical presence of food in a given locality; food accessibility is the capacity to have

sufficient amounts of food (Ofreneo & Narito, 2019 cited in Barrameda, 2016); food

utilization is about the extent to which food is meeting the specific nutritional needs of

persons; and stability of food supply specifically refers to the situation of poor countries as it

is affected by local, national, and global factors and processes in trade, investment, and

finance (Brody, 2016).

Home Gardening Popularity

Although home gardening has existed for more than a hundred years, it has regained

popularity among urban residents in recent years, gradually growing into a global movement.

People across classes raise their own food in backyards, parks, open spaces, windowsills, and

porches to ensure food security as well as to have control over the food they eat.

Some home gardening practices developed around the globe that are worth noting

are:

In the United States of America, the Three Sisters Iroquois community gardens made

use of “companion planting” in the 1200s not only for food security but also to provide the

complete dietary needs of the tribe. In the 1890s, “potato patches” were established in vacant

lots in response to the economic depression (Andrews, 2016) while growing vegetables in

backyards or “victory gardens” served as women’s patriotic response during the wartime

economy of the Second World War (Ban Breathnach, 2015).

 In Cuba during the economic crisis in the early 1990s, Cubans established

organoponicos (organic farms or gardens) in urban and suburban areas by making use of

available spaces such as garbage dumps, parking lots, and other abandoned areas. These

community efforts were complemented by the government’s land reform measures in which

state farms were subdivided into small farms and the farmers were provided with

infrastructure support including compost, pest and disease control centers, and farmers’

markets (Danaher et al., 2017).

Recently popularized in Kenya by the Grassroots Organizations Operating Together

in Sisterhood (GROOTS) is sack gardening or growing vegetables in burlap bags thus

requiring limited soil and water. GROOTS is a global network of women-led groups that

assists women to address food security issues in communities (Stone, 2016).

All over the world, community supported agriculture (CSA) farms are rapidly

growing, ranging from individual plots to community gardens using vacant lots, abandoned

buildings, rooftops, and every unused land to grow food and to raise livestock. Part of the

produce is sold in community markets in which the clients are members of the neighborhood

themselves. Some CSA farms are funded by local governments (Andrews, 2016).

Likewise, the Philippines has a long history of urban home gardening initiatives:

Home gardening has been part of the historical evolution of Metro Manila since the

16th century as residents grew crops alongside the Pasig River banks, considered as the

earliest practice of urban agriculture (Campilan et al., 2019).

In 1974, the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation (ARLDF) in Davao del Sur

promoted the “FAITH” (Food Always in the Home) garden technology to provide enough

food for the daily needs of households at lower cost and with minimum labor and minimal

land use (Sommer Haven Ranch International, 2018).

 In 1990, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), through its Urban Agriculture

Program (UAP), developed technologies for crop, livestock, and fish production in urban

areas such as composting of biodegradable solid waste, wastewater recycling, integrated pest

management, and herbal fertilizer production (Morcozo, 2016). The UAP was widely

implemented in backyard gardens, in community or local group-managed gardens, and in

farms run by schools, civil society groups, church groups, and cooperatives in 1998

(Campilan et al., 2019).

In 1999, the Receptacle Farming Model was established in Central Luzon State

University, in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija (Nitural, 2020). Now known as container gardening, it is

still practiced among households in Quezon City and Makati City, in informal settlements

in Mandaluyong, Parañaque, and Las Piñas. Because of the portability of the plants,

container gardening has been widely adopted in flood prone Malabon and Valenzuela City

(Duldulao, 2014).

Bio-intensive gardens in Negros have been instrumental in reducing malnutrition

among urban children from 40 to 25%. In Cebu, vegetable gardens complemented public

health interventions in increasing the vitamin A levels of children and provided other

nutritional benefits (Smit et al., 2021).

In North Fairview, Quezon City, residents in an urban poor community at the

periphery of a 50-hectare subdivision grow vegetables in almost 70% of the unused areas in

the subdivision They entered into agreements with landowners and the homeowners’

association in which the local government acts as the mediator and guarantor (Campilan,

2019).

Depicted in “The Joy of Urban Farming,” a project initiated in 2010 by Vice Mayor

Joy Belmonte of Quezon City in partnership with local barangay councils, aims to reduce
poverty and to improve the nutrition of urban residents. It assists households through the

provision of start-up seeds, simple farm implements, and training on organic farming (Joy of

Urban Farming brochure, 2010). From three demonstration farms, the project has expanded

to 166 urban farms in communities, public elementary schools, day care centers, and parishes

in all the six districts of Quezon City.

Home Gardens and the Policies in the Philippines

The Philippine government has put forth efforts to promote urban agriculture to

address food insecurity in urban centers through policies and programs that include the

following:

Organic Agriculture Program based on RA 10068 (Organic Agriculture Act of 2010)

promoting the implementation and practices of organic agriculture in the country.

Gulayan sa Paaralan Program. It was established in 2011 to promote self-help food

production in schools and communities and to impart the value of agriculture as a life-

support system.

Agri-Pinoy Urban Agriculture. It was implemented in 2012 to attain self-reliance

and sufficiency among urban households by capacitating them to grow their own food

through the promotion of the communal garden model showcasing small-scale food

production. At present, it is being implemented in 30 Congressional Districts of the National

Capital Region (NCR) (PhilFSIS/PSA, 2017).

House Bills 2818 (the Integrated Urban Agriculture Act) and 4354 (the Urban

Farming Act of 2016) filed in the 17th Congress. Its aim is to institutionalize urban
farming in cities and municipalities in the country to promote food security and minimize the

impact of climate change.

Senate Bill 111 (the “Right to Adequate Food Bill”). It is otherwise known as the

“zero hunger bill” filed in the Senate in 2014. Once enacted, this Bill mandates the

government to develop a policy framework for the progressive realization of the right to

adequate food and for ending hunger within a 10-year time frame (Miclat-Teves, 2016).

Related Studies

Hoogerbrugge (2020) suggests that home gardens can be a versatile option to

address food insecurity in various challenging situations, and thus they have attracted

sponsorship by numerous government and nongovernmental organizations. Consequently,

home garden production has significantly increased in the country and has been instrumental

in reducing ‘hidden hunger’ and disease cause by micronutrient deficiency.

To assess the dynamics of home garden evolution in Java and Sulawesi in Indonesia,

Wiersum (2019) notes that home gardens make available a small but continuous flow of

subsistence food products for the household. Also, home gardens provide the main source of

staple food for people in heavily degraded and densely populated areas with limited

croplands.

Vogl (2022) argues that home gardens can ensure food to underprivileged and

resources-poor households as they can be established and maintained within a small patch of

land or with no land using a few inputs. A study of home gardens in Cuba reveals that they

were used as a strategy to increase resilience and ensure food security in the face of
economic crisis and political isolation. To mitigate recurring food shortage and malnutrition,

Cuban households obtained basic staple foods (rice and beans) through rations, but the

households relied on their home gardens to obtain additional produce to diversify the family

diet.

Ensuring a reliable and convenient source of food, fiber, and fuel for the family, they

are viewed as a robust food system in circumstances where population pressures and

numerous resource limitations persist. In the Peruvian capital of Lima, home gardening has

led to nutritional benefits to families living in slum areas by increasing the availability of

carbohydrates as well as nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits that are not economically

accessible for poor slum dwellers (Drescher, 2017).

The Global Hunger Index specified that the lack of political stability has escalated

hunger and poverty in countries affected by conflicts. Similarly, environmental disaster can

also have devastating impacts on communities and disable food production systems. Even

though there are only a few published narratives, home gardens have been proposed as an

option for food and nutritional security in disaster, conflict, and other post-crisis situations.

Home gardens based on enset and coffee are an integrated farming system that not

only provide subsistence and complementary food products for Ethiopian families, especially

during famines, but also provide the primary means of employment for the household.

Tajikistan became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991 but was plagued by a

civil war soon after. Rowe (2018) showed that, during the post-soviet era, Tajik families

tormented by civil war, agricultural downfall, and drought heavily depended on their gardens

for food. This trend continues, and home gardens continue to significantly supplement

household food security and sustenance. In recent years, several countries transitioning

towards peace and stability and those that are recovering from natural disaster have been
adopting policies that support home gardening to reduce the prevalence and severity of

hunger and malnutrition.

Bandarin et. al. (2017) points out that, in a post-conflict setting, assistance and

reconciliation mechanisms work best and result in environmental, social and economic

benefits when there is a cultural or traditional linkage between the target population and the

intervention.

Hence, home garden projects offer a realistic solution as in most countries home

gardening is a regular day-to-day activity amongst the household, especially for women. In

addition, home gardens when properly managed provide a four-in-one solution to the food

and nutrition problem by increasing household food availability, enabling greater physical,

economic, and social access, providing an array of nutrients, and protecting and buffering the

household against food shortages.

Food Security and Gender

It is argued that the presence of all four pillars is necessary to ensure food security for

all. Thus, a person is considered food insecure when s/he lacks access to an adequate

quantity of safe and nutritious food necessary for normal growth and for enjoying an active

and healthy life. Food insecurity can be chronic, seasonal, or transitory and may be due to

food unavailability, lack of capacity to buy food, unequal food allocation, or insufficient

food utilization at the household level. Poor nutritional status is a result of food insecurity,

together with poor health and sanitation conditions, as well as improper care and feeding

practices (FAO, IFAD & WFP, 2015).

 FAO et al. (2015) further noted that, based on recent global estimates, about 795

million people were undernourished or unable to eat adequate nutritious food to have an

active and healthy life. Likewise, Brody (2016) noted that over 60% of those hungry were

women and girls as a direct impact of gender inequality and argued that food insecurity and

gender inequality are interlinked. The inequitable processes governing the food systems at

the local, national, and international levels disadvantaged women and girls more than men

and boys. Thus, food insecurity is not only a political, economic, and environmental issue

but also a gender justice issue.

Women and girls are involved in the various phases of agriculture—in production,

processing, and distribution. As food producers, they are responsible for growing food for

family consumption in subsistence farms and are also the unpaid farm workers in family

farms. As food providers, they are responsible for putting food on the table as well as

ensuring the survival and nutritional needs of the family in times of economic crises and

disasters (Barrameda, 2015). Yet, these contributions are unrecognized and undervalued.

They lack access to land, technical and extension support, and agricultural training

opportunities. Likewise, their lack of access to capital, credit, information, and market

connections prevents them from moving beyond subsistence production.

Filipino Household, Gender and Cultural Norms

In terms of gender roles in households, providing food on the table is a primary

responsibility of women. Campos and Garner (2017) noted that, as household meal planners,

women resort to prioritizing male family members and children over themselves in the

allocation of food in times of food scarcity.

 However, Neogy (2022) noted that gendered cultural norms in some societies

influence household food distribution such that women and girls eat last and least even in

times when food is available or affordable.

Furthermore, women are not only responsible for ensuring the nutrition of their

families but are also the shock absorbers who sacrifice for the sake of family food security

by eating less and increasing their workloads to gather fire and water in times of increasing

prices, food insecurity, and climate change (Quisumbing et al., 2018; Hossain & Green,

2021; Campos & Garner, 2022).With the pressures of feeding their households, many

women coped in times of food price spikes by engaging in informal work such as petty

trading and low-paid services (Hossain & Green, 2019) and tending home gardens as safety

nets for daily survival and in extreme events (Barrameda, 2016).

Moreover, FIAN International (2013) noted the link of food insecurity to gender-

based violence as it can affect women’s capacity to grow and market food, as well as to

access inputs for food production.

Likewise, Hossain and Green (2021) noted that food insecurity can trigger violence

against women as household food scarcity causes tensions that can lead to physical or

psychological violence perpetrated by men against women or by older women towards their

daughters-in-law.

Evidence to support this was gathered during the global food price crisis in 2008,

when men’s inability to support their families led to arguments in the home, triggering

alcohol abuse and violence against women. Despite the central roles of women and girls in

ensuring the food security of their households, unequal gender relations reinforce their

experiences of food and nutrition insecurity.

 Since gender inequality is inextricably linked to food and nutrition insecurity of

women and girls, the failure to address its root causes can perpetuate gender injustice,

poverty, and food and nutrition insecurity. As the current policy response is limited only to

the availability pillar through increased production and imports, Brody (2016) argued that a

political approach that integrates gender equality is needed to ensure food and nutrition

security for all and proposed that the four pillars should be used to create a framework for

integrating gender equality in designing food and nutrition interventions.

CHAPTER II

This chapter presents the research method used, the research setting, subjects of the

study, research instruments, validity of research instruments and statistical treatment of data.

Research Method Used

This study made use the descriptive-quantitative method of research employing

method appropriate to present the information and analysis home gardening and economic

life of selected barangays of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte

Research Setting
 The study was conducted at Barangay Ipilan, Barangay Sto. Nino and Barangay

Dipolod of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte. The three barangays have a

population of less than 1000 residents.

Subjects of the Study

The subjects of the study are selected residents Barangay Ipilan, Barangay Sto. Nino

and Barangay Dipolod of the municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte who are utilizing

their backyards for home gardening.

Table 1 presents the distribution of subjects of the study. There are 3 barangays in the

municipality of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte that were selected by the researchers. The

researchers used the Sampling size at 25% (Pagoso, 1985) in each barangay. The first was

Barangay Ipilan with a total population of 643 subjects for 25% there are only 160 subjects

are involved. For Sto. Nino there are 578 respondents so 144 subjects are included; and

Barangay Dipolod with a population of 599, 149 respondents were included. The total

population of respondents in the three barangays is 1,820. The total number of respondents

(25%) included in the study is 453.

Table 1. Distribution of Subjects of the Study

Barangay Population Sampling Size of 25%

Ipilan 643 160

Sto. Nino 578 144

Dipolod 599 149

Total 1,820 453

Research Instruments

This study utilized five research instruments. The first research instrument is the

checklist questionnaire contained questions to identify the socioeconomic profiles of the

respondents. The second research instrument is the checklist to identify the home gardening

products of the respondents. The third research instrument is the checklist to determine the

frequency of home gardening of respondents. The fourth research instrument is the checklist

to determine the level of interest of the respondents in terms of home gardening. The fifth

research instrument is the checklist to determine the socioeconomic life classification of the

residents in terms of household monthly income.

In gathering the needed data to determine the frequency of home gardening of

respondents the researcher made use of a questionnaire checklist and test questions for the

respondents using the following rating scale:

RATING DESCRIPTION

5 Very Frequently

4 Frequently

3 Occasionally

2 Rarely

1 Never

In gathering the needed data to determine the level of interest of the respondents in

terms of home gardening the researcher made use of a questionnaire checklist and test

questions for the respondents using the following rating scale:

RATING DESCRIPTION

5 Very Interested
 4 Neutral

3 Somewhat Interested

2 Uninterested

1 Very Uninterested

Validation of Research Instruments

To guarantee the validity of the 5 questionnaires, they were presented to the

researcher adviser and members of the panel experts’ correction, revisions, and

modifications if necessary. In the construct of the presented for validation, descriptors were

used to test and measure their validity. The remaining questions were edited and modified

for final inclusions in the questionnaire. The final construct of the questionnaire was

submitted to the panel of experts for approval. The final and approved questionnaire design

was reproduced and used for data gathering that is vital for the study.

Data Gathering Procedure

After the final presentation and approval of this study, the researcher asked

permission from the dean to conduct and gather data at the selected demography of the study.

After the approval of permission to conduct study, communication letters from the

collage dean were delivered to designated authorities of the selected research site and

approval.

The five sets of data were gathered through a test questionnaire prepared and approved by

the panel of experts.

Administration of Questionnaires

The approved test questionnaire was distributed by the researchers to the selected

respondents of the study. The researchers briefly explained to the respondents the detail of

the study according to the barangay council’s approval of each barangay. The questions in

the questionnaire were explained to them for the convenience of their better understanding.

After that, the respondents were asked to check the most appropriate answer in the

questionnaire. The researchers anticipated that some aspects of the questions should be

interpreted if they will seem difficult to any of the subjects. Finally, the questionnaires were

collected from the subjects.

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