WHEN you are in the Caraga Region, particularly in Butuan City, it is worth trying the “palagsing,” an indigenous delicacy which is made from the starch of the lumbia tree or sago palm (Metroxylon sagu).
The tradition of preparing palagsing has been mastered in Barangay Banza, one of the oldest in Butuan, more particularly by 60-year-old Maurita Ariola Avenido who has been cooking the delicacy since her childhood after learning the secrets from her parents.
The distinction of cooking palagsing in Barangay Banza can be attributed to the abundance of sago palm where the “unaw” or lumbia starch is harvested from the palm tree.
Palagsing is like the common “suman” we know that it is also wrapped in banana leaves, but tastes different.
Palagsing has been the main source of her family’s income, which allowed her and her husband Leonardo Avenido to send their children and even their grandchildren to school.
Unaw has historically been among the staple foods in their area because the sago palm was so abundant, making unaw processing as a vital economic activity in their barangay.
During the earlier years, the rich starch obtained from the bark of sago palm has become the staple food among marshland dwellers, particularly the indigenous people.
However, the livelihood of Maurita and her family, including the other palagsing makers, is threatened due to the unregulated cutting of the sago palm and the conversion of the plant’s habitats into ricefields and other commercial purposes.
The sago palm produces 200 to 300 kilograms of dry starch per stem, eight to nine years after planting, making it the highest-yielding perennial starch crop in the world.
Due to its significance, sago is now one of the priority commodities of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) under its industry strategic program (ISP) because of its economic importance and high global demand for sago starch for industrial and medical purposes, earning it the title “plant of the future.”
To address the dwindling supply of sago starch, the DOST-PCAARRD provided the necessary science and technology interventions through the ISP on Industrial Tree Plantation.
Because of the great demand for sago starch for various industrial purposes, cultivation of sago palm is now considered of prime importance.
PCAARRD will ensure the availability of sago palm quality planting materials for sustained plantation development and provide economically viable technologies for managing sago natural stands.
These can be achieved through: Development of rehabilitation strategies for existing sago plantations, and identifying sites for pilot-scale plantation development; Production of IEC materials, and Establishment of nurseries and field experiments for suckers and wildings; and Protocols/guidelines in managing sustainable sago plantations, and Policy recommendation for the maintenance of natural sago stands.
PCAARRD envisions that in the near future, our country will be self-sufficient on the demands for starch from sago palm, and the empowered farmers would be change agents, adopters of package of technology options, and advocates of scientific sago palm farming. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
