|
Sunday, March 23, 2008
P10M allotted for veggie noodles study
MANILA -- After having a new potato variety named after her, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned over P10 million to a state university to develop noodles made from Cordillera vegetables and tubers.
A Malacañang statement on Saturday night said, Arroyo turned over a check worth P10 million to the president of the Benguet State University (BSU) to pilot the production of the vegetable noodles.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
BSU researchers earlier had presented Arroyo with prototypes of noodles made from gabi leaves, squash, turmeric, carrots, and rhubarb at a vegetable trading post in La Trinidad.
She advised BSU president Rogelio Colting to "concentrate on veggie noodles research and development as your mandate."
"Upon being informed that the veggie noodles could be produced on a commercial scale, the President then released the check whose amount came as a welcome surprise to BSU officials who said they were going to request for only P2.5 million as the BSU counterpart in their proposed P18.5-million vegetable noodles joint project with PGMA-Department of Agriculture (DA) and the local government of La Trinidad, Benguet," the Palace statement said.
Arroyo said the prototypes of the "more nutritious and delicious vegetable-fortified noodles" could later become a part of the "Tindahan Natin" project.
She added that vegetable noodles could solve storage and other problems "in this era of soaring wheat prices" and enthused about the "more and better nutritional choices" for Filipinos with the advent of the local vegetable noodles.
On the other hand, she said the noodle prototypes could later be shared with noodles manufacturers and even with the "Go Negosyo" entrepreneurship program.
She ordered the DA to provide technical assistance, the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to ensure credit assistance, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to take care of marketing concerns.
The Palace statement said the BSU is also planning on developing noodles from fruits; cereals like wheat flour, rice, oatmeal, corn and sorghum; root crops like potato, yams, aroids and sweet potato; spices like garlic, onions, celery, black pepper, and hot pepper; and herbs like comfrey, tarragon, lemon balm, pitcher plant, and white oaks.
In developing noodles from highland vegetables, the BSU explained that processing is "the best way to transport vegetables and fruits from Benguet to other parts of the country with minimal post-harvest losses and lesser transport cost."
"Processing is the best way to utilize fully the vegetables and fruits that easily dry up or rot," aside from being "the best way to produce value-added products from fresh vegetables and fruits such as juice, fresh cuts, and flour, apart from the main product such as noodles," the BSU research findings stated.
The vegetable noodles project is also looking at producing vegetable pastas, meats, sausages, nuggets, fresh juices, fresh cuts, grates and strips, soup base, flour, and catsup. (JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (March 23, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
'Let business import rice': Biz leaders