Indigenous vegetables are part of Filipino cuisine. But as time passed by, more and more Filipinos stopped consuming it.
With many different options like fast food, processed food, and the influx of imported vegetables, many Filipinos have changed their taste preferences to the point of ignoring traditional dishes including those that use indigenous vegetables as ingredients.
Indigenous vegetables then became underutilized.
Also, home gardens that were once planted with indigenous vegetables became depleted. It was as if indigenous vegetables were a mere thing of the past. Forgotten. Well, nearly.
Thanks to the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), the country’s indigenous vegetables were “rediscovered.”
To help Filipinos learn more and appreciate indigenous vegetables, DOST-PCAARRD funded UPLB’s “Documentation of indigenous vegetables in the Philippines.”
The project gathered information from printed and electronic sources as well as from municipal- and barangay-level interviews in 20 provinces all over the country.
These provinces include Abra, Batangas, Bohol, Bukidnon, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Davao del Sur, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, La Union, Leyte, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quezon, Rizal, Siquijor, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte.
The result - 150 indigenous vegetables and their uses were documented. That’s 150 nutrient-rich, low-cost and – maintenance but underutilized vegetables that could help address hunger and nutrient deficiency in Filipino diets.
The project also found that some indigenous vegetables are vanishing. For instance, 'alukon,' a long, spike-like inflorescence (called catkin) of a medium-sized tree of the mulberry family, was listed as “depleted in the wild” according to the definition of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Alukon is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, and calcium. According to the project, boosting consumption of indigenous vegetables like alukon, among other strategies, would keep them from vanishing.
Interested in knowing more about the country’s indigenous vegetables? An episode on this natural legacy was produced by DOST-PCAARRD on its YouTube Channel. Watch it here: https://tinyurl.com/SaribuhayIVEG.