WHEN taro is mentioned, most consumers will think that this rootcrop is just an ingredient for cooking local dishes.
But do they know that taro (Colocasia esculenta) which is locally known as “gabi” is rich in starch and a source of dietary fiber.
Primarily, taro is a tropical plant which is grown as a root vegetable for its edible corm.
Taro corms have been described as very high in starch, and good source of dietary fiber.
A corm is a short, vertical, and swollen underground plant stem which serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive adverse conditions such as drought and low temperatures.
In the northern part of Luzon, like for instance Ifugao, taro is commonly grown as source of animal feed.
But due to its nutritional value, some local residents have started processing taro into indigenous delicacies such as cookies, choco chip, choco cream, and choco vron, which they package neatly and offered as “pasalubong” for visitors and tourists.
Following its popularity and nutritional value, various taro delicacies can now be found in some local markets in Ifugao.It was learned that sometime in 2017, the provincial government of Ifugao submitted a proposal to the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) to promote viable food and by-products in an effort to increase the income of the local farmers and generate livelihood opportunities for the residents.
Following the implementation BAR’s National Technology Commercialization Program, the project titled “Product Improvement and Promotion of Coffee, Tinawon Rice, and Taro Products” was funded.
The funding support covers the further development and improvement, design assistance, and promotional activities for the products, particularly those processed from taro.
As this developed, even BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar was surprised to see the availability of packaged taro cookies and taro choco cream which are on display at the lobby of a hotel during a recent official visit to the province of Ifugao.
According to Eleazar, this proves that government money has not been put to waste, emphasizing that the end goal of funding the initiative is to commercialize generated technologies and developed products, and eventually bringing them into the mainstream market.
It was also learned that the various taro delicacies are mostly produced by the Rural Improvement Club (RIC), a food processor group in Baguinge, Kiangan in Ifugao, which is one of the 10 existing associations and organizations and 12 individual processors of coffee, Tinawon rice, and taro products in the province and assisted under the project.
The beneficiaries received technical assistance on product packaging and labelling, developed capabilities of identified processors engaged in production of products, conduct of simple cost and return analysis, among others.
RIC Food Processors is composed of Clusters 1 to 6, where Cluster-5 is engaged in food processing.
Developing further the taro industry has the potential to generate employment opportunities for those in the countryside.
Establishing local facilities for cleaning, sorting, packaging, and shipping of taro can also provide additional revenues which can alleviate poverty in the rural areas./PN
