Mindanao Times, August 6, 2005 Signs of the Times, Peter T. Lavina Gulayan sa Barangay When I was in college, I went on a vegetarian diet for over a year when I joined the Ananda Marga for asanas and meditations. But even before that I was used to eating veggies. We used to have a small vegetable garden at the back of our house in Maa, where I and my brothers grew eggplants, okra, ampalaya, pechay, kangkong, among others. Today, my diet is still largely composed of vegetables and seafoods. I have cut down on my pork and beef for several years now since I passed forty summers. At home, I always encourage the eating of vegetables. No problem with my wife, Evelyn, who is not only eating but planting veggies as well, and our youngest son, XC, who counts among his favorites, eggplant, onion and spinach. Like most parents, I had trouble with the three other grown up kids who yearn to eat only chicken joys and big macs. I am happy that there is such a group like the Vegetable Industry Council of Southern Mindanao (VICSMIN) that is promoting vegetable gardening through the Gulayan sa Barangay. I support this project not only from the health and nutritional point of view. I believe there is gold in green. Vegetable production can be a good source of extra income or full livelihood. For instance, in the Cordillera 140,000 jobs are generated by the vegetable industry mostly in Benguet, no doubt the vegetable capital of the country. VICSMIN, headed by President Rogelio G. Gualberto, is an umbrella organization composed of farmer-growers, cooperatives, farmer associations, academic institutions, government and non-government agencies and even supermarkets. Founded in 2000, VICSMIN aims to hasten as well as rationalize the development of the vegetable industry in the Davao region. Its five-year goal includes increasing vegetable farming, consumption, and systematizing quality control and marketing. Gulayan sa Barangay is one of its projects and this is being coordinated with various local and national government agencies and our barangays. This aims to heighten vegetable consciousness with Davao City identified as a pilot area. There are 76 barangays currently involved in the project in the three congressional districts of the city. Under the program, each barangay will put up a vegetable garden and mini-botanical garden in their barangays and should be maintained throughout the year. Various prizes await the best vegetable gardens. I am not sure what the criteria for such awards are. But I think it is essential to include how the people accept and participate in the project. The level of change in the attitudes of the people within the community in planting vegetables in their front or backyards, or in the barangay vegetable and mini-botanical gardens, and eating the same, should be some of the key indicators to determine the success of this project. Keep up the good work, VICSMIN!