PCAARRD urges the public to rediscover indigenous veggies in the Philippines

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) has completed a project documenting over a hundred indigenous vegetables from 20 provinces, as part of an initiative to boost their utilization. Conducted by a team of researchers from the University of the Philippines - Los Baños (UPLB), the project involved engaging with 75 communities to assess the accessibility, seasonality, and marketability of these vegetables. The research highlights the nutritional benefits of vegetables like sunset hibiscus, jute mallow, waterleaf spinach, and malabar spinach, and also includes flower and fruit vegetables. However, the researchers also emphasized the challenges these vegetables face, such as environmental pollution, land conversion, and the introduction of high-yielding varieties, and called for efforts to conserve them. The project also plans to conduct a nutritional analysis of 12 indigenous vegetables and promote their consumption.