Underutilized crops: their importance in the sustainable management of the agricultural landscape of the Laguna province, Philippines
2009
Wagan, A.M. | Medina, C.M. | Tamisin, L.L. Jr.
The Philippines is among the countries in the tropics endowed with rich natural biodiversity. Despite this, only a few plant species are being fully utilized today for food, income and even for environmental conservation and enhancement. Laguna is one of the provinces in the country that is characterized by diverse agricultural landscape which often consists of mixed cropping systems where underutilized crops are a major component. Underutilized crops are plant and tree species that many communities traditionally use for food, fiber and animal fodder, oil or medicine but have further underdeveloped potential uses including diversifying cropping systems, developing value-added products, protecting the environment and restoring degraded lands. This study was conducted to show the importance of underutilized crops in enhancing agrobiodiversity of Laguna through a measure of its contribution to vegetation cover and implications on environmental protection; illustrate the economic importance of underutilized crops in Laguna through an estimation of their potential contribution in household occasional income hence their contribution to community/local income; and provide recommendations on how these underutilized crops might be integrated into the farmers' decision-making on land use management and how the neglect of these biological resource may be overcome. At least 83 underutilized plant species were identified, mostly tropical fruit trees shrubs that serve as vegetables; medicinal herbs and root crops that are locally consumed. Underutilized tree species alone, contribute up to 40% of the total tree population in mixed cropping system. Occasional income from these crops benefits various sectors in the rural communities. A review of the nutritive value of these plant species revealed valuable sources of minerals and vitamins, often lacking in the daily diet of the rural poor. To maximize potential contribution to environmental enhancement, food security and economic productivity, proper integration of these underutilized crops in different agroecosystems is necessary. Integration may include domestication or inclusion in the production system or conservation of species outside the production system.
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