Cultivating a green future: Yamsuan pitches whole-of-government fix, tech-driven methods to boost urban farming

Parañaque 2nd District Representative Brian Yamsuan has called for a whole-of-government approach complemented by technology-driven strategies to sustain the momentum of urban agriculture initiatives and transform cities into food-secure communities.

To implement these proposals, Yamsuan has filed House Bill (HB) 9473 that aims to institutionalize the government’s National Urban Agriculture and Peri-Agriculture Program (NUPAP) and create a fund that would ensure that urban farming gets a regular, sustained allocation under the national budget.

“Simple lang ang ating layunin: ang magkaroon ng sapat at masustansyang pagkain sa hapag-kainan ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino, hindi lang ngayon, kundi pati sa susunod na mga henerasyon. Dahil ang usapin ng pagkain ay hindi lamang usapin ng produksyon,
presyo, o supply. It is a matter of human dignity. It is a basic human right,” said Yamsuan at the opening of the Pagsibol 2026: Philippine Horticulture and Urban Agriculture Summit held in Manila on Tuesday (Oct. 6, 2026).

(Our goal is simple: to have enough and nutritious food on the table of every Filipino family, not only now but in the succeeding generations. Because the topic of food not only involves production, price or supply.)

“And as we, in Congress, work to build the legal foundations for achieving food security, we begin with a new perspective. Hindi natin kailangan ng ekta-ektaryang lupain para maabot ang pangarap na ‘wala nang Pilipino ang magugutom’,” he added.

(We don’t need hectares of land to achieve the dream of ‘no Filipino will go hungry.’)

Yamsuan said ensuring the success of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-led NUPAP should not begin and end with the mere passage of legislation, but should be viewed “as part of a larger ecosystem of government programs designed to work together.”

Citing as an example, Yamsuan said an idle, vacant lot in a barangay can be converted into a community garden growing vegetables through the DA’s support under the NUPAP and developed into a viable business opportunity with the aid of various government programs already in place.

The garden’s harvest would not only augment the food that the members of the community put on their tables, but could later on supply the local carinderia, market or other buyers. Expanding this into a business venture, the community can obtain funding support from the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso Program (P3) of the Small Business Corp. (SBCorp), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s financing arm.

Beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) can be tapped to assist in maintaining and cultivating the garden, while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) can provide the training needed to equip and upskill them with tech-driven urban farming methods.

“The bottomline is this: we need a whole-of-government approach to make every government investment count. We have to ask how one program can strengthen another, how one government agency can complement another, and how we can turn individual interventions into one interconnected ecosystem of opportunities for our people,” Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan pointed out that the urban green revolution he is advocating does not aim to replace the country’s farmers nor can it be the single solution to ensuring food security. But it is the first step that every community can take to put affordable, adequate and nutritious food on every Filipino table.

The DA’s allocation for NUPAP has declined over the years. From P439.2 million in 2025 and P390.9 million in 2026, the current proposed budget for the program is down to P183.4 million—not even half of last year’s budget, and is only 0.12% of the
DA’s agency budget, Yamsuan noted.

Enacting HB 9473, will integrate NUPAP into a single, comprehensive national program and guarantee it sustained funding through the creation of the Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Fund, he said.

The measure also directs agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to prioritize research and development on new urban farming technologies.

It also proposes the use of idle and abandoned government lots and buildings, and other available spaces for urban and peri-urban agriculture with the support and participation of the local government units (LGUs), homeowners’ associations, and other community-based organizations.