AGGIE UPDATES

Ifugao projects: A noodle company and malunggay
SHIRLEY G. DACMAY AND GAIL RAMOS

LAGAWE, Ifugao – The provincial board has endorsed various project proposals for funding under the agricultural competitiveness enhancement fund of the Department of Agriculture- Cordillera. The ACEF, enacted in 1996 is a funding facility aimed at supporting those whose livelihood depends on agriculture.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution 096-s 2007 identified six projects which include the improvement of Ifugao major provincial farm –to-market roads, construction of small ruminant production facility, construction of modern swine housing facility; establishment of small-scale integrated coffee processing facility, construction of fish farm facility and construction of Ifugao provincial trading post.

Nazario Tuguinay, agriculture technician of the Provincial Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Office staff said projects funded under ACEF would enable farmers and fisher folks, cooperatives and agribusiness entrepreneurs to compete in competitive and increasingly globalized agricultural market.

If the financial assistance is granted, the provincial government is proposing 40 percent of the total project cost as equity contribution. It has also assured funds for the maintenance and other operating expenses during and after the project implementation, as contained in project proposals submitted in compliance to the requirements of the financial grant.
***
A noodle company is eyeing malunggay for the biofortification of noodles as part of its commitment to support the program to fight malnutrition which is prevalent in the countryside. Director Alice Ilaga of the Biotechnology Program Office of the Department of Agriculture bared this saying, given the nutritional value of malunggay, it can also be used in fortifying sauces, juices, milk, and bread. Fortification of food is just one of the many marketing potentials of malunggay that the private sector could tap and adopt given that the Department is strategically positioning itself to boost its commercial production.

Although the Philippines is still in the midst of developing the local market for malunggay and its products, the industry is slowly on its way to become a global competitor with the help of DA's biotechnology program.

Biofortification of food crops is one of the most promising new tools of science today to fight malnutrition and save lives. This approach is a new paradigm in the field of agriculture, the results of which focus on providing better food to poor people and not just providing them with bulk.

This approach is in sync with the millennium development goals that are being implemented by agricultural organizations all over the world—eradicating hunger, reducing child mortality, and improving maternal health. Essentially biofortification is the process of breeding food crops that are rich in bioavailable micronutrients. Putting it in other words, these crops are being "loaded" with high levels of minerals and vitamins in their seeds and roots, which are then harvested and eaten. Through biofortification, farmers are provided with crop varieties that naturally reduce nutrition-related health problems.