As the third smallest city in Laguna province, San Pedro has long surrendered much of its agricultural lands to commercial establishments, resettlement sites, and sprawling subdivisions.
Agricultural lands now account for only 13 hectares of San Pedro’s total land area of 2,405 hectares, due to residential, commercial and industrial conversions.
The 1960s saw the influx of factories in the then municipality, leading to the eventual industrialization and transformation of the town into a bustling city.
And while rapid urbanization may have resulted in increased revenues for its local government, it has also led to the growing displacement and marginalization of San Pedro’s farmers, duck raisers, and small fishermen. It has likewise affected the food security capability of the city’s more than 300,000 constituents.
Massive conversion of agricultural lands has likewise resulted in the gradual decline of San Pedro’s once vibrant sampaguita industry.
As of 2016, land devoted to the planting of sampaguita has been reduced to three hectares—a third of San Pedro’s sampaguita land in the 1990s.
With an objective land limitation, how does one bring agriculture back to a San Pedro that 300 years ago had land enough for the planting of sampaguita, fruit trees, rice, and other food crops?
APPROPRIATE NEW TECHNOLOGY
Soon after winning the 2022 elections, Mayor Art Mercado tapped Lungsod ng San Pedro’s Agricultural Office (CAO) to initiate a series of trainings and seminars that introduced agriculture technology appropriate for small spaces.
It was the start of San Pedro’s Urban Agricultural Program.
Designed to resolve the lack of agricultural land in the city, the program aimed to encourage San Pedrenses to plant fruits and vegetables in their yards or any other plot of land available in the city and suburban areas.
The push for urban farming came with the trainings and seminars on appropriate agriculture technology such as vertical gardening, hydroponics, container gardening, among others.
Applicable in areas with small agriculture lots, vertical gardening enables the use of a wall to grow plants in containers or on a special material attached to the wall.
Hydroponics, on the other hand, is a technique of growing crops using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil.
Container gardening involves the systematic growing of plants in containers such as pots and reusable containers, rather than into the ground. This technology is space-efficient and mobile, capable of being arranged to fit the size of a garden.
VEGETABLE & ANIMAL DISPERSAL
With appropriate new technology in place, the next step was to launch various dispersal projects to benefit various target beneficiaries.
These agriculture-led projects include: Vegetable Seeds Dispersal (6,567 household beneficiaries), Vegetable Seedling Dispersal (1,245 household beneficiaries), and Livestock Health Monitoring, Immunization and Goats Dispersal (49 household beneficiaries).
In 2023, some 650 ready-to-lay ducks were distributed to two duck-growing organizations who underwent technical training in monitoring and prevention of bird flu.
In sum, since 2022, the San Pedro City government has implemented six major trainings and seminars—all geared to provide all-around support to smart agriculture in the city.
These trainings include: Vertical Agriculture Hands-on Training (2022), SNAP Hydroponics Hands-on Training (2023), Urban Agriculture Seminar (2023), Sustainable Mushroom Production Training (2023), Barangay Biosecurity Officer Training, and Duck Production and Management Training (2024),
PILOT TESTING
The San Pedro City Government pilot-tested its smart urban farming program by donating a set of greenhouses with hydroponics to an elementary school and two barangay-based organizations.
These included the Sampaguita Village Elementary School in Barangay Sampaguita, the Harmony Homeowners Association in Barangay Maharlika, and the Elvinda Homeowners Association in Barangay Fatima.
Beneficiaries of the program were the city’s farmers, duck raisers, small fishermen along Laguna de Bay, and a growing number of urban agriculture enthusiasts in San Pedro.
CITY-WIDE CONTEST
In May, the city government launched the Search for Outstanding SMART Urban Farming Community and Household 2024, with the theme, “Agreenculture—The Art of Urban Agriculture in San Pedro.”
Residents are enjoined to identify and turn open spaces into urban gardens—even transforming of dumpsites into food production areas.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter were used to generate people involvement and participation.
The competition is open to all Lungsod ng San Pedro residents who are members of bona fide organizations in San Pedro.
The urban garden must be located within the city limits and should not be funded by any government agency.—Trixzy Leigh Bonotan
