Maldonado distributes 3,500 seed kits for family gardens

The Intendencia de Maldonado has launched the spring-summer phase of the Plan de Huertas Familiares, distributing 3,500 seed kits across the department. The initiative aims to promote food sovereignty and self-consumption among families, schools, and community gardens.

Each kit contains approximately 50,000 individual seed packets covering 14 different varieties, including chard, parsley, carrot, spinach, lettuce, beet, radish, basil, sweet corn, bell pepper, green beans, arugula, tomato, and zucchini. According to Carlos Bovio, head of the Family Gardens Office, the volume provided is estimated to sustain a family of four or five people for six to seven months.

Magdalena Zumarán, General Director of Productive Development, noted that this year the program will focus on increased technical follow-up. Local municipalities will maintain registries to track crop evolution, identify needs for training, and document successful urban gardening experiences. Authorities also emphasized that the program is accessible to those without large plots of land, as crops can be grown in small containers or pots.