MARAWI CITY — Last June 2020, the Office of MP Maisara held the first ever backyard gardening photography contest in Lanao del Sur. “Growing Seed of Hope” is an opportunity for Bangsamoro individuals to showcase their backyard gardening skills through online photography contest. The champion award went to Aminola Inidal of Marantao Lanao del Sur. Other awardees were Samina Macadato, Sahara Gania, Haspia Kasanodin, and Juffali Magarang. The awarding ceremony was held on July 15 at the Mindanao State University -Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (MSU-IPDM) Marawi City.

“As the head of the family, this crisis taught me to invest in doing something that will not only benefit myself and my family but also my community as well. Growing food gives me a sense of hope and something to look forward to every day. I’d like my children to appreciate hard work. I used to encourage my neighbors to grow their plants also,” says Inidal.

Inidal gives his neighbors seed every time they need one. He believes that encouraging one another to grow plants will save their lives longer than just giving them vegetables.

It also encourages different individuals to engage themselves in gardening and/or farming. It is a great help and contribution to securing food in these trying times.

The contest promotes backyard gardening in the province of Lanao del Sur and in BARMM as a whole, secure foods in times of crisis, engage individuals in agricultural practices on small land spaces, grow vegetables for physical and financial health, and help supply the family with healthy food to eat.

 “In this time of crisis, people need to be physically and mentally healthy. A beautiful garden is not just something to be admired in glossy magazines, or in what we see in news articles,” says MP Maisara Dandamun-Latiph.

A small study from Wageningen University (Netherlands) comparing the stress-relieving impact of reading with that of gardening found that gardening had a physiologically soothing effect on 30 adult participants. Therefore, it is timely to promote backyard gardening in the province of Lanao del Sur or in BARMM as a whole so that people will be physically and mentally fit.

During the awarding ceremony, awardees were able to share their motivations and experiences in growing seeds. This program gave them opportunity to widen the reach of  their advocacy to encourage the Bangsamoro people to grow food not only for the table but for a healthy lifestyle. PR