Archive for August, 2010

300,000 Malunggay Vs Poverty

farmeric August 21st, 2010

Under the program dubbed “Utanon Kada Balay”, the DA through its CARAGA Regional Office aims to provide every household with vegetable seedlings or planting material to come up with their own backyard vegetable garden for their persona consumption, as well as feed of their animals such as goats, pigs, chickens or ducks

In 2007, the Department of Agriculture in Caraga distributed 300,000 malunggay seedlings to 100,000 families to help mitigate hunger, fight poverty, and solve the growing problem of malnutrition in the region.

CARAGA, an impoverished region of Mindanao, is considered a priority area because of the high incidence of hunger, as well as malnutrition among pregnant women and children.

The program was established to help promote malunggay culture and thus help boost the national campaign against hunger and poverty.

CARAGA, covers the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte.

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Malunggay - The Miracle Tree

farmeric August 20th, 2010

Malunggay,according to former Agriculture Secretary Arthuro Yap, has many agri-busi- ness potential, explaining why there is a need for farmers to venture into malunggay farming. He gave credit to the DA-BPO led by Director Alicia Ilaga for aggressively promoting the backyard as well as commercial planting or cultivation of the nutritious vegetable tree crop, making it malunggay one of the country’s chief vegetables.

YAP cited the DA’s Malunggay Agri-Biotechnology Program as the model of the research, development and extension component the DA’s program.

“If coconut is the tree of life, the malunggay is the miracle tree,” he said. Yap said malunggay has many agri- business potentials which can help fight hunger and poverty and increase farmers’ income, as well.

Powdered malunggay can be used to fortify noodles, soup or bread with vitamins and minerals of the nutritious vegetable while its seeds, which can produce all-purpose oil, can be used by industries for products like soap, shampoo, lotion and other personal health-care products.

It can also be an alternative source of Continue Reading »

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Of Manny Pacquiao and Malunggay - Uniting the Filipino

farmeric August 18th, 2010

Pacquiao, who prefers to use the moniker given to him by the Americans, which as everyone knows came from a video game character immensely popular in the 80s, known for devouring everything in its way, has devoured every fighter who crossed his path.

Pacquiao, who boxed his way to fame and fortune and into the hearts of this country’s citizens desperate for heroes, reportedly feasted on malunggay-filled tinola prepared by his trainer before his fights.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has said time and again that pound for pound, malunggay is the most nutritious vegetable this side of the planet, rich in every known nutrient. It also wages war against free radicals that impair metabolism.

DA said that the Medical College in Kolkota, India, found out that malunggay can help in the treatment of female reproductive disorders like epithelial ovarian cancer.

Philippine folklore says that malunggay can also help men with low sperm count.

Known scientifically as Moringa oleifera Lamk, malunggay is also believed to be a natural energy booster.

It is a given that malunggay, with all its nutrients, helped Paquiao beat his opponents.

With the vast commercial opportunities that come with the “miracle vegetable,” our people just might rally behind it, be more productive, earn, have food on the table, be truly united, and help each other live a better life.

It’s hard to unite when one is poor and hungry, but there is one ingredient in the meal of the destitute that has all the nutritive values absent in the meals of the super rich, and that is malunggay.

Of course, for the greedy there will never be enough. No amount of malunggay-laced tinola can remedy that problem.

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