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Overview
Overview
The MV2C Project in partnership with The Farm Villa Learning and Residential Facility, Inc., and the Maria Montessori Philippines, implemented activities under the Youth for Agriculture Immersion Program for high school students. The aim of the youth program is to provide platform for students to expand their knowledge in agricultural sciences and nutrition, and to educate students on the food system through practical learning (e.g. fruit and vegetable gardening, post harvest handling, marketing, and preparation).
Alignment with the EAT-Lancet Commission
Alignment with the EAT-Lancet Commission
The Youth for Agriculture Immersion Program engages students in vegetable production through a food systems approach which teaches students about environment, sustainability, and waste management, etc. Engagement of students in practical activities on vegetable production provides knowledge and skills on how food is produced, marketed, and prepared. This also builds better appreciation for vegetables, which has been documented to change behaviour, and food preference towards vegetables.
Evaluation and feedback from students are collected, together with debriefing with teachers and project staff (MV2C project). Parents are also part of the feedbacking. Essays of students indicate the strengths of the students understanding of the what they learned from the program. How well the essays are written becomes the basis of selecting the students to move forward to bigger and broader youth programs such as the Global Youth Institute of The World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moine, Iowa.
Key actors
Key actors
School Heads, who recognize the importance of agricultural sciences and nutrition as practical and intellectual skills of their students
Groups such as MV2C project implementers to provide support for such activities
Academia and research organizations such as the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, and the International Research Institute providing mentorship to students
Global Youth Institute of The World Food Prize Foundation
Parents who support their children to participate in such programs
Teachers and mentors who provide guidance to students
Students who have interest in agriculture
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
School curricula does not include vegetable gardening activities nor agriculture as part of the STEM program. Although it may be part of the vocational strand, students prefer not to take up agriculture.
Although there is a school garden program under the Department of Education, not all students are required to participate in its activities.
Lack of exposure to agricultural sciences (and nutrition) is associated to lack of preference for vegetable consumption among youth, and low level of life skills.
Schools (e.g. teachers) are not well capacitated in educating students about agriculture and food production.
Next steps
Next steps
Tap into the Department of Education (or selected schools on including agriculture in the STEM curriculum)
Establish a Global Youth Institute in the Philippines through the World Food Prize Foundation to expand the Youth for Agriculture Program to allow students to engage in activities with a more global perspective
To establish partnership with institutions such as the University of the Philippines, The International Rice Research Institute in expanding and sustaining the youth program on agriculture (and nutrition)
Tap into networks within the education sector to allow more students to participate in the youth program (both private and public schools).
Help promote the school gardens programs of the Department of Education (Gulayan sa Paaralan Program) to help promote vegetable consumption among youth.
For more information please contact: Ma. Cristina B. Sison at mbsison3@up.edu.ph or at babsison@gmail.com
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