Glamorizing Indigenous Vegetables
The Indigenous Vegetables (IV) story is an interesting tale of the aftermath of globalization.
0nion farmers diversified to the production of bt corn, rice, cassava and IV due to loss of markets. Long protected by Republic Act 1296, onion farmers lost in the fight for competitiveness after markets were opened. Indigenous vegetables, while easy to grow, are difficult to market. However, they are full of nutrients and can be a viable livelihood for rural and urban women and will improve the health of everyone. It was a challenge for the farmers.
The National Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC) Fruits and Vegetables Committee created the core group to study the potentials of.IV. The committee focused its study on lo selected IVs.
The core group, supported by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Agricultural and Fisheries Information Service (AFIS) produced a book on IVs and five techno farms in a i,ooo square-meter lots in BPI Malate, Los Banos, Baguio, La Granja and Davao. It was an exercise in hard work and commitment. The core group did exceedingly well and the High Value Crop Commercial Crops (HVCC) provided financial support. The Department of Agriculture (DA) adopted IV as a national program.
Dissemination through the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) hastened the delivery of information so that it can cascade down to the level of housewives. The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) conducted seminars on IV in Agrilink for the past two years. Secretary Yap is looking for a focal person for malunggay. These are signs of interest that encourages an industry to grow.
The group is now in the process of expanding the list of IVs and is planning to put up more centers in the next coming years. In the meantime, the Soroptimists of Baguio are also joining the activities including the Chefs on Parade at the Baguio Country Club. The IVs is finally starting its glamour track.
We requested Maya Kitchen to test 13 recipes in the IV book. They came up with four recipes that was presented in the recently concluded Agrilink and aptly called it “Glamorizing Indigenous Vegetables.” It was a successful launch with no less than the President as guest. The Department of Health (DOH) also made it a national program. The idea is suddenly catching on fire.
Once the markets for IVs have been identified, then production volume can be undertaken. Developing the volumes for the export market and its inclusion in the daily household menu are still being developed. Markets take time to develop and the people in NAFC are passionate about its development.
The role of home economics teachers to teach the menus to students, the endorsements of celebrities and utilization of the media will be exhausted so that IVs will become more popular. This project is a wonderful GONGO collaboration. Where will it end, I do not know. But we committed to push for its development.
The Soroptimists of the Philippines Region (SIPR), together with the DA, supports plans to put up an 88 techno-demo farms all over the islands. Presently, there are 88 clubs from Jolo to Ilocos Norte composed of outstanding professional and business women.
The germ of idea behind the development of IVs started eight years ago and is still going strong.
This is a beautiful project that is now starting to show signs of growth. In maybe five years, the IV program, led by malunggay will already be a thriving industry. Remember, MASK TALK-an acronym for malunggay, alugbatai, saluyot, kulitis, talinum, ampalaya, labong, katuray, pako and himbabao.
In the recently concluded Agrilink, the president no less mentioned the need to develop IVs. The appreciation for the project’s development was shared by Secretary Arthur Yap, BUTIL Congresswoman Leonila V. Chavez, NAFC Chair Bernie Fondevilla, HVCC Coordinator Rene Rafael Espino, Ms. Lourdes Fajado of Maya Kitchen and BPI Director Joel Rudinas, Soroptimist Governor Carmen Flor and other celebrities.
PGMA promised to be back in 2009. She thoroughly enjoyed her short visit. It was an Agrilink to remember. Fifteen years and we’re still growing strong. Truly, it is a good omen of nicer things to come.
