The local government unit of Talavera, Nueva Ecija hopes to encourage more people to grow vegetables.

According to Mayor Nerivi Santos-Martinez, it is very important especially in today's pandemic times, to plant vegetables and fruit bearing trees to ensure food sufficiency, nutrition and prevent hunger.

Eight years since taking office as head of the town government, Martinez's main advocacy has been the planting of vegetables in yards, schools, barangays to take advantage of unused lands.

According to Martinez, apart from having nutritious vegetables that can be eaten, planting also brings pleasure. The mayor also said that the land or yard does not need to be large because it is still possible to plant even in pots or sacks with only soil.

In "Gulayan ni Nerivi" there are four greenhouses where a variety of vegetables such as squash, tomato, cucumber, ampalaya, beans, bell pepper, lettuce and many more are planted.

Recently, the town government redistributed vegetable seeds to the covered barangays to be distributed to interested citizens who want to plant them at home or in the yards.

According to Mayor Martinez, due to the support and assistance of the local people in the vegetable planting campaign, Talavera is recognized as the Nutrition Champion nationwide.

Photo Credit: Talavera LGU