The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have commenced a joint anti-hunger effort to help women in two of the poorest provinces in the country and in slum relocation sites in Metro Manila find affordable ways to augment the diet and livelihood opportunities available to their families.

NAPC Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said the P3.2 million ‘Sapat at Masustansyang Pagkain sa Bawat Tahanan’ (SAPAT) project is designed to allow women from impoverished families in Abra, Apayao and Metro Manila the training and technical assistance they need to raise crops and vegetables in their backyards.

“Our aim is to develop ‘Barangay and Home Food Gardens’ which will expand the food base at the community level, encourage enterprise development, and provide nutritious sources of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and protein for food-poor communities,” Panganiban said.

He said the joint NAPC-UNDP program will be undertaken in cooperation with the Farmers’ Community Development Center (FCDC) International, the Abra State Institute of Science and Technology (ASIST) and the Apayao State College.

“Women will lead in the selection, production and marketing of the vegetables and other produce to be raised in the gardens. They will also manage and maintain both the production systems and enterprises that are to be built through the project in close cooperation with their local government units,” the NAPC chief said.

Dr. Ponciano Batugal of the FCDC said the program was designed for women because they are usually in charge of the preparation of food.

“As such, women are more familiar with both day-to-day household expenditures and the consumption patterns of their families,” Dr. Batugal added. He said that NAPC, UNDP, the FCDC and its partners in the project have already started initial food status surveys in beneficiary communities in Abra and Apayao.

Panganiban said Abra, Apayao and Metro Manila had registered some of the highest levels of hunger and poverty in the country during the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES)of the National Statistical Coordination Board.