Assessment of the Gulayan ng Masa Program of the Department of Agriculture

In response to the worsening hunger situation in the country, the Philippine government, through its different line agencies and departments, implemented various hunger mitigation programs that targeted both the supply and demand sides of food production and consumption. The former focuses on increasing productivity, enhancing efficiency of logistics, and improving food delivery services; and the latter focuses more on promoting good nutrition, managing population growth and putting more money in poor people’s pockets to improve their access to more nutritious and larger amounts of food. As the main government agency mandated to implement agricultural programs, the Department of Agriculture developed the Gulayan ng Masa Program, with its integrated backyard gardening projects in rural communities, capacity building through training, provision of production materials and inputs, and microfinancing schemes.

This paper is an attempt to quantify the impact of the Gulayan ng Masa Program in terms of alleviating hunger and malnutrition in the country, as well as draw lessons that can serve as guides for policy-makers and decision-makers in formulating and implementing similar targeted programs. Further, this paper seeks to identify the major constraints faced by the program which could have hindered the creation of better program results and greater impact on the beneficiaries.

Partner:

• Philippine Rice Research Institute

Date Completed: December 2012

Related Article:

SEARCA assesses impact of DA Gulayan ng Masa program