Today is :

Industry Situationer

Ah! Vegetables again! I do not like vegetables!!! This was how we expressed our feelings whenever our mothers told us to eat vegetables during our younger days. To me, it was different. Coming from a place where fresh vegetables are grown right in front of our doorstep, my siblings and I ate the best vegetables in town. Most often, we prepared them as fresh salads or as the local lowland vegetable stew, called “dinengdeng” with grilled fish. It was a feast even up to this day.

This scenario has been very common to young kids who experienced the same condition we had back in La Trinidad, Benguet, the place considered as the Salad Bowl of the Philippines. Today, the condition has changed. This is the very reason why we would like to showcase that vegetables are for people's health.

Vegetables are healthful food because these are sources of vitamins and minerals needed by our body. Our elders who are still living today could attest to their strict diet full of vegetables, eaten as fresh or cooked in a delectable way. The recommended vegetable consumption is 200g/capita/day (AVRDC, 2005).

Vegetable consumption may increase per our requirement and nutritional need.

Vegetables are health food
My interest in vegetables could be traced back to my growing years. My appreciation of vegetables was transformed into vegetable culinary arts. I love to cook because I like to eat. I consider this basic because people who know food would eat the right kind, quantity, and quality. So far, there has not been any negative attribute to vegetables which are considered the major source of minerals, vitamins, fibers and in some case, of proteins. The nutritional pyramid shows that vegetables are the base component of every meal. Most diets are provided with vegetables and these are supplemented with other important food items such as fruits, fish and meat and cereals.

The global vegetable concern
The next cycle of Green Revolution focuses on improved and safe production of high value horticultural crops including vegetables. The worldwide concern for vegetable research and development including extension and information management is getting positive response by R&D institutions and development-oriented organizations around the world.

Globally, vegetables have taken significant importance in research and development. Through the strong leadership of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center - The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC-WVC), continents around the world identified areas for collaboration, complementation and partnership. The five regional sub-centers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America place vegetables as the core for overcoming micronutrient deficiencies and for providing smallholder farmers with higher income and more jobs per hectare than staple crops. These regional sub-centers conduct vegetable research from breeding and production to consumption and socio-economic impacts on communities. In addition to germplasm conservation and varietal development, other core activities include genetic enhancement using molecular technologies; studies on nutritional security and human health, safe and sustainable production systems and crop protection, postharvest management, market opportunities and income generation.

Challenges and emphases
Although vegetables have minimal contribution to gross national domestic products of some countries, directions have been identified for research and development plans and programs. These plans and programs are emphasized because of the need to make vegetable a part of people's lives.

Vegetable research has three broad emphases which majority of institutions follows as guide in their development plans and programs as initiated by AVRDC-WVC. These are HEALTH-producing vegetables more safely and promoting nutritional value of vegetables; WEALTH-improving crop yields, production systems and marketing opportunities; and DIVERSITY-building on genetic diversity to improve the production of high quality vegetables. On the other hand, development activities in support to research are anchored on CAPACITY BUILDING providing long and short-term training in vegetable production; COLLABORATION actively contributing to development partnerships and networks; and COMMUNICATION providing extensive on-line and hard copy information resources.

The Philippine vegetable industry
The Philippine's vegetable R&D could be described as innovative and responsive. Innovative since it deals with appropriate information that is supportive to R&D and responsive because it makes sure that pressing issues and concerns are immediately analyzed and addressed. The researchable areas and disciplines along bacteriology, biotechnology, crop and ecosystem management, entomology, genetic resources and seed management, mycology, nutrition, socio-economics, and virology including support services such as information, communication and education.

These areas have set the direction to make the industry more responsive. The developed information, breakthroughs and technologies are the guides for integration and consolidation to address issues of production, postharvest, marketing including social relevance of food safety and nutritional benefits. Through these activities, the Department of Agriculture focused on two vegetable programs like the “chopsuey” vegetable crops and the “pinakbet” lowland vegetable crops.

Vegetables grown is a semi-temperate climatic condition are classified under the chopsuey group. These are cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and even young corn. The pinakbet group includes bitter gourd, string beans, eggplant, okra, sigarillas, onions, garlic and lima beans. The chopsuey group is normally grown under mid to high elevation while pinakbet group is grown under lowland conditions. These vegetables are produced through innovative practices using indigenous knowledge and practices complemented by modern technologies.

Growing vegetables
A lot of the vegetables can be grown in small pieces of land or even in pots or containers. Growing them is a stress reliever after long working hours or for some intellectual reflections. Vegetables practically grow anywhere. When the household requires a healthy meal, one can just harvest, cook and serve hot. The vegetables are either introduced or endemic to the place.

Vegetables can grow in any climatic condition type of soil and requires minimum water and cultural management. Two important considerations in vegetable growing are observed nowadays. In the rural areas, vegetables are grown for home consumption and for supplying the needs in the urban areas. Urban vegetable growers make it a part of recreation or simply for aesthetic value. However, these two contrasting situations are vegetable directions for further research and development.

Vegetable production and utilization
There are about 43 major kinds of vegetables grown in the country and 250 lesser known species. The major vegetables are generally grown during the dry season wherein production is ideal to most crops resulting to high supply and hence prices are low. During the wet season, production is generally difficult so supply is low and prices are high. This is especially true for the seasonal crops like tomato, onion, garlic and cabbage. However, with new innovations in vegetable production such as the use of protective structures and off-season varieties, the problem of high prices and low supply are now being addressed for better production and marketing.

Based on 2005 data, vegetables contribute an increase of 4% from 8% of the total agricultural output of the country in 1997. The increase could be derived from the increase in area usage from open farms to protected structures which have sprouted like mushrooms in strategic areas of the country due to increasing health and wellness centers in the metropolis and sub-urban areas in the provinces. From a mere 5% total land area devoted to vegetable production in 1997, an increase of 0.8% or 745,600 hectares was achieved.

Vegetable production
In 2005, squash production was 272,538 metric tons followed by eggplant (187,793 metric tons), tomato (173,740 metric tons), and cabbage (91,439 metric tons). However, onion production was high at 82,019 metric tons.

Area devoted for vegetable production was according to commodities with high economic return and market competitiveness. Among the highest production areas were for eggplant (21,233 ha) tomato (17,731 ha), bottle gourd (9,606 ha), squash (7,820 ha), onions (8,884 ha), cabbage (7,420 ha), garlic (4,704), and carrots with 3,585 ha. The least production area were from Chinese pechay (3,133 ha) and cauliflower (1,017 ha).

The highest regional producing area are Ilocos Region for eggplant and tomato with 4,987 ha and 3,901 ha, respectively, followed by CALABARZON for bottle gourd (4,019 ha), onions in Ilocos Region (4,961 ha) and Central Luzon (3,527 ha), and garlic in Ilocos Region with 3,786 ha. The Cordillera Region still has the highest production area devoted for cabbage (4,356 ha), Chinese pechay (2,734 ha), carrots (1,795 ha), and cauliflower (1,017 ha).

In terms of yield per hectare, CALABARZON is highest on eggplant at 16.09 mt followed by Ilocos Region with 14.02 mt and SOCSARGEN with 10.44 mt. Tomato yield per hectare is highest in Northern Mindanao (17.11 mt), followed by Ilocos Region (14.18 mt), Western Visayas (12.54 mt), and CALABARZON (12.52 mt). CARAGA produced more on bottle gourd per hectare basis with 19.44 mt, followed by Bicol Region (18.88 mt), Cagayan Valley (16.55 mt), Zamboanga Peninsula (16.26 mt) and Central Visayas (14.87 mt), respectively.

The data revealed that vegetables are practically productive on areas with good climatic conditions supported by good agricultural practices and services. Farmers indigenous knowledge of vegetable production systems contribute a lot specifically on quality size, shape and color.

Prospects and directions
Since vegetable production goes back to traditional systems, it has also set the direction in terms of appreciation and importance. Today, vegetables adhere to nature or natural farming system, which is less use of pesticides and other inorganic fertilizers. If farmers apply fertilizers, they use their own formulation coming from natural sources of farm by-products or even household raw materials like sugar, baking powder or corn starch and even locally produced vinegar. For progressive farmers, they establish their own organic farms complete with protective structures and irrigation facilities. They are assisted in making vegetable productive using modern technologies. Some of the farmers make connections with health and wellness centers to market their produce. Targeting certain clientele is the in thing today especially for health conscious and food safety buffs.

Moreover, agri-tourism initiatives are getting recognized through farms for their aesthetic value. These are mostly established by big companies like Ayala Group of Companies, Netafim Philippines, selected seed companies and private farmer hobbyists concerned with the environment. These farms can be found in La Trinidad, Benguet (Tomay Farms, Brookspoint Farms, and Master's Garden), Antipolo City, Tagaytay City, Bacolod City (Penalosa Farms), Davao City, Cagayan de Oro and Negros Occidental. Farms in Cebu, Dumaguete City, Bohol and General Santos City are also now being developed. All farms, both existing and emerging, consider food safety and environment friendly production systems making “back-to-the- basic” concept an interesting and profitable activity.