PERCEPTIONS ON URBAN-BASED GARDENING IN THE CITY OF ISABELA, BASILAN, PHILIPPINES

Urban agriculture provides the potential to deliver fresh, locally produced food to urban populations. Gardens have the potential to significantly affect the well-being of urban populations, as evidenced by their restorative capacity, most notably in providing areas for recuperation from everyday life, encouraging social relationships, and improving food security in times of need [14]. This study explores the perception of the community on the urban-based gardening in the City of Isabela; specifically, a) the level of awareness of urban community on the Urban Gardening (UG), b) the factors influencing and hindering the urban communities in implementing urban gardening; and, c) the type of urban gardening and vegetable that these urban communities want to establish, adopt, or implement-maintain. The research offers an important insight into the degree of awareness among respondents, which is traced to food security and environmental sustainability issues. Positive determinants for the adoption of UG are perceived benefit to health, savings on costs, and social cohesion. Still, lack of interest and resource constraints hinder UG adoption. Conversely, UG forms preferred, such as rooftop gardens, and preferred vegetables indicate aspirations towards cost savings and nutrient content. These findings point to the need for specific interventions to overcome obstacles and facilitate UG adoption. Stakeholder cooperation is necessary to establish an appropriate environment for UG sustainability. In the end, UG presents itself as a viable solution for improving food security, environmental sustainability, and city resilience in urban settings. More research is needed to further understanding and enable extensive UG use as a catalytic urban food production model.