MANILA, Philippines — For some University of the Philippines – Los Baños (UPLB) students stranded in their dorms due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, food supply from now on will never a problem as they now reap the fruits of organic backyard vegetable farming.
Photos of the “farmer-students” were shared by the UPLB Community Affairs in its Facebook account on Sunday, showing them harvesting from the vegetable garden of their respective dorms.
The UPLB Community Affairs said the students started gardening using donated seedlings during the first weeks of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
The ECQ in Los Baños, Laguna, started on March 17.
“#UPLB dormers are making themselves productive while in-home quarantine by tending to their respective dorm’s organic edible vegetable garden. This is a program for the psycho-social wellness of dormers initiated by the UPLB Housing Office,” read a social media post from the office on April 3.
“The program also aims to develop the appreciation of UPLB students for farmers and the profession of agriculture,” the caption added.
On Friday, the university sent home 58 stranded students from Isabela through the “Oplan Hatid” program being coordinated by the UPLB Office of Student Affairs.
UPLB ferried them from Los Baños to Pampanga, where they were transferred to another bus sent by the provincial government of Isabela.
The university on Saturday also received from the Department of Agriculture – Cordillera Administrative Region sacks of vegetables from Benguet for the benefit of other stranded students.