The School-Plus-Home Gardens Project in the Philippines: A Participatory and Inclusive Model for Sustainable Development

In the Philippines, almost a third of 5-to 10-year-old children are underweight and stunted, and poor nutrition has led to poor academic performance and early school dropouts. Also, a major concern for the future of food security in the Southeast Asian region is the youth's declining interest in agriculture.

To address these two problems, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Philippines, district of Laguna, revived and redesigned the old school garden concept to an innovative approach focused on nutrition, education, and economic wellbeing of school children, their families, and their communities, which was called "A Participatory Action Research on School- and Community-based Food and Nutrition Program for Literacy, Poverty Reduction, and Sustainable Development," also known as the "School-Plus-Home Gardens Project (S+HGP)".