Mayor pushes greenhouses to stop ravaging of forest

By Andrew Doga-ong

BAUKO, Mountain Province –  This town’s top executive is now pushing construction of greenhouses to discourage farmers from further encroaching on forests, address severe weather conditions brought about by climate change, watershed degradation and  low vegetable production.

Mayor Abraham Akilit said technology intervention like constructing permanent greenhouses for the vegetable farmers will partly address issues on climate change, continued forest destruction as well as enhance vegetable production of farmers.

Greenhouses are structures that protect crops from hailstorm and typhoon winds and excess rain waters and heat.

Providing support to the farmers to construct their permanent greenhouses would stop them from expanding their vegetable farms onto the mossy forests, he said.

Some farmers he added, are encroaching on mossy forests not only in Bauko but also in the adjoining towns of Buguias in Benguet and Tinoc in Ifugao.

Akilit said forests have vital role in climate change mitigation.

Forest ecosystem is said to help store greenhouse gasses as it absorbs carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis.

Instead of farming hectares with one or two cropping per year, farmers will just confine their farming in smaller areas with greenhouses but with multiple cropping, he said.

Akilit said farmers can have multiple cropping in greenhouses as their crops are protected anytime of the year even during severe weather conditions like heavy rains, strong winds and even frost due to extremely low temperature.

Vegetable production will surely increase and crop quality is improved while crop damages are minimized if not eliminated in a greenhouse, quipped the mayor.

Akilit, whose town hosts the Mt. Data National Park and wide tracts of mossy forests, broached  his idea of  greenhouse support to the farmers during the launching of the Integrated Natural Resources and Environmental Management Program (INREEMP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources suggesting it would be included in the program.

INREMP, a seven-year (2014-2020) water management project with a P2.2 Billion funding, seeks to reduce and reverse the degradation of watersheds caused by forest denudation and unsustainable farming practices. The project covers watershed areas along the upper Chico River Basin.