Two malunggay processing plants to rise
LIVELIHOOD FOR 4TH DISTRICT
TWO processing plants for moringa, locally known as malunggay, will be constructed in the 4th District through the priority development assistance fund of Rep. Gina de Venecia.
De Venecia, who earlier filed House Bill 6462 to name malunggay the national vegetable, said she has allotted an initial P25 million for the project.
“We have already inspected the sites for the malunggay plantations that will be put up in San Fabian and in Barangay Awai, San Jacinto,” said De Venecia.
“Through these plantations, we hope to turn what was known as a backyard tree as a source of a profitable trade that can enable us to tap into the $6.9-billion world health industry,” she added.
She pointed out that “malunggay is now being manufactured and sold in powder form, tablets and capsules as a health supplement as well as an ingredient in beauty products, shampoo, sauces, juices, milk, bread, instant noodles, tea, and even ice cream, as what the Manaoag Cooperative in my congressional district has been doing.”
To ensure the promotion of propagation of malunggay periodically, De Venecia is also seeking the declaration of November every year as the “national malunggay month”.
The congresswoman is also batting for the promotion of use of malunggay to help address the three main vitamin deficiency problems identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing countries like the Philippines.
The three vitamin deficiency problems are: iron, which reduces resistance to infections; iodine, that leads to various degrees of mental retardation; and Vitamin A, causing the loss of immunity.
“These three vital nutrients are all found in malunggay, as it has four times more beta-carotene than carrots, and three times more iron than spinach. In addition, it’s also an excellent source of naturally occurring iodine that our body requires for proper functioning,” said De Venecia.
Malunggay was named by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as the “Most Nutritious Plant on the Face of the Earth.” It also claimed that malunggay is helpful in curing about 300 diseases, including cancer, diabetes, infertility and HIV-AIDS.
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