LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET – Root crops, such as potatoes and yam, can help cushion the impact of a rice shortage, but government needs to improve commercial production of these, experts here said.
Dr. Johnny Dati, director of the Northern Philippines Root Crops Research and Training Center (NPRCRTC), said local supply of root crops is abundant enough for domestic consumption but leaves much to be desired when it comes to production for commercial purposes.
He said food producers in developing countries, like the Philippines, had already taken notice of the crucial role root crops would play in a hungry world as early as 2005.
Dati said the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which involved five international roots and tuber research centers, predicted that root crops would be important in feeding the world.
“Roots and tuber crops have myriad and complex roles to play in feeding the developing world in the coming decades. By 2020, well over two billion people in Asia, Africa and Latin America will depend on these crops for food, feed or income. Many of these people will be among the poorest of the poor,” the CGIAR said.
Dati said the country’s production of potato, yam, cassava, sweet potato (camote) and taro might pale in comparison with the volume produced in other countries.
“But the looming food crisis had put a premium anew on these root crops as possible staple in lieu of rice,” Dati told the Inquirer on Tuesday.
But what boosts the local stock of root crops is the presence of indigenous or minor root crops like arrowroot (sago), singkamas, lesser yam (tugui), yacon, canna, aerial yam, karot, boga and kamangeg, he said.
“Potatoes, together with all the other the root crops, can be considered as food of last resort or survival food,” Dati said.
This means, he said, that the government must focus on the research and development of these crops to cushion the impact of a future rice shortage.
Benguet is the country’s top producer of potatoes, with an annual production of 97,834 metric tons (MT) harvested from 10,984 hectares of land.
