DA-6 ‘goes local’ in Filipino Food Month celebration

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The Department of Agriculture-Western Visayas (DA-WV) on Tuesday “honored” local farmers across the region by showcasing their products during the launch of the Filipino Food Month celebration.

The three-day program, titled “Pagkaing Sariling Atin, Mahalin at Pagyamanin” was formally opened to the public at Robinsons Place Iloilo, featuring 16 agricultural and aquacultural exhibitors from Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo province, and Negros Occidental.

Products include fresh vegetables, safely processed food products including various vegetables, fruits, and mushroom products, and all-time Filipino food favorites, among others.

It also serves as a celebration of the agency’s High Value Crops (HVC) Week, which raises awareness on the significance of HVC to the country’s food security.

Some HVCs include garlic, carrots, cabbage, onions, okra, bananas, mung beans, ampalaya, eggplant, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, coffee, mangoes, cacao, and durian, among many others.

DA-WV’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division chief Maria Teresa Solis said that the main goal of the event was not to boost sales, but to raise awareness on the value of locally-produced agricultural products and what it can do for the economy and for public health.

“Fast food is currently very rampant, but [the public] is not [fully] aware of the effects of these to [their] bodies. As we observe, local food is enriching [and] healthy. […] If we inform the public on the benefits of our local food, their minds will be opened and go back to home-cooked meals,” she said.

“In the ordinary [markets], it’s only selling but there is no educational [value] given to consumers. Consumer awareness is very important nowadays. Our consumers must be well-educated, especially the children, because [at their age], some of them are already getting high blood because of their food intake,” she added.

Solis also said that this celebration will also highlight the prioritization and selection of the food to be planted in urban or residential gardens or to be bought from the markets.

“We have to go local because it is affordable and without [excessive] transport costs, but imported [food] has a lot of expenses and is very expensive when it reaches us, so we really encourage consumers to consume locally-produced agricultural products,” she said.

Other activities to be held between yesterday and Thursday, April 13, include Culinary Olympics, Still Life Painting (mixed media), and seminars and lectures on HVCs, urban and communal gardening, cacao and coffee production.

The Filipino Food Month celebration is also supported by the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement, and Robinsons Place Iloilo.