House to probe disappearance of Phl rare crop varieties

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on agriculture and food will look into reports that some rare, indigenous varieties of rice and other agricultural products from Cordillera are vanishing from the market.

The probe was prompted by House Resolution 1598 filed by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who said there is a need to find out why these endangered plant and animal varieties are disappearing.

Rodriguez asked the panel to invite representatives of the Department of Agriculture and other resource persons to shed light on the matter.

He said there are over 300 varieties of rice in the Cordillera including the traditional Javanica and Indica subspecies.

The rare rice varieties in the Cordillera are called chong-ak, imbuucan and ominio.

Rodriguez said the Ark of Taste, an international organization that has recorded 1,600 rare rice varieties around the world, had included chong-ak, imbuucan and ominio.

He said chong-ak, which is plump, rust-red and seed-coated, is planted in the Kalinga province from December to February every year.

“The imbuucan rice, also known as tinglu, is grown on the rice terraces of Banaue and Hingyon in Ifugao province,” he said.

Rodriguez said the ominio rice is a medium-sized, glutinous grain variety grown in the town of Barlig, Mountain Province.

“These endangered food varieties should be preserved and protected to ensure they are continuously grown in the country,” he said.

The lawmaker said among other agricultural products that are disappearing from the market are the alamid coffee, which is produced from the droppings of a local palm civet; the sinarapan, the country’s smallest fish found only in Bato and Buhi lakes in Camarines Sur; the kabog, a tiny cereal plant known as millet in other countries; and the budbod kabog, a native cake made from kabog.