Monday, June 15, 2009 Indigenous vegetables can eradicate
malnutrition, food shortage. From the forest to the household
backyard, indigenous vegetables could address malnutrition and
head off the looming food shortage. A study recently conducted
by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), in partnership
with the World Vegetable Center, a Taiwan-based research and
development institution, shows that at least 10 promising
indigenous vegetables are classified as priority crops for
massive promotion. These include alugbati (Basella alba),
ampalaya (bitter gourd) or bayok-bayok for leaves (Momordica
charantia), himbabao (Allaeanthus luzonicus), kulitis
(Amaranthus), labong (bamboo shoot), upo or bottle gourd
(lagenaria siceria), malunggay (Moringa), pako (fiddlehead),
saluyot (Corchorus), and talinum (Talinum triangulare). The
study is part of the project dubbed, Promotion of Indigenous
Vegetable for Poverty Alleviation and Nutrition Improvement of
Rural Households in the Philippines, being implemented in the co