This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 32, September 18-24, 2005
Kamote: Poor Man’s Staple Food
The lowly rootcrop is a
lifesaver to many families in the Cordillera.
BY Johnny Fialen BAGUIO CITY — In the
Cordillera mountain region and adjacent provinces, kamote or sweet potato
is the staple food of most villagers, especially those living far from the
provincial centers. It is the only reliable crop in times of drought, typhoons,
as well as in times of economic crisis. Kamote
(Ipomea Batatas) is a common substitute food for
rice and corn especially for families living below the poverty line. This crop
does not require intensive care since it grows on the ground and can survive in
poor soil. It contains all kinds of essential amino acids to supplement other
plant proteins. Elleo Docio, 56, a farmer
who lives in a mountain village called Boundary in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya, said
kamote is their staple food in the mountain. Living far from the market,
he said it has been their staple food ever since he was a child. “Gapu iti kamote nabiag
ko ken napag-adal ko dagiti putot ko, isunga saan a basta-basta ti kamote ta
dakkel la unay ti naitulong na dayta kadakami a marigrigat. Mabalinmi nga
ipalastog ditoy nga adu ti nakaadal nga ubbing gapu iti kamote laeng Adda ti
maestro, abugado, inhenyero, pulis ken dadduma pay,”
(Because of kamote I was able to raise
and send my children to school, that’s why kamote is very important
especially to us poor. We are proud to say that because of kamote many of
our children finished their studies, we have teachers, engineers, police,
lawyers and others). Docio said that most of
them are gardeners, who also plant vegetables but mostly for consumption. Their
products are primarily kamote and banana, and they use carabao-drawn
carts to bring their products to the market, a good two hours trek away.
“My wife and my children
help each other to sell kamote in the town center. We boil, fry or bake
it. It sustains the schooling of our children,” he said. Most of Docio’s buyers are
from Baguio City and the lowlands, mainly from the provinces of Nueva Ecija,
Pangasinan, Pampanga, and Isabela. The customers get five to six sacks of
kamote at P180- P200 for every sack and P6 to P8 a kilo. The farmers are able to
sell 25-28 sacks in two days, earning them P4,500 to P5,300. But, Docio said,
this is not enough for their daily needs and for their children’s school needs. Not
ashamed Meanwhile, Fermina Odsi,
27, a teacher from Nueva Vizcaya and member of the Kalanguya indigenous group,
said, “I’m not ashamed to say that from childhood until graduation, kamote
was my staple food. It still is because I seldom eat rice. There was no
budget to buy rice with since my parents relied only on selling kamote in
the town centers. They were too hard up.” Odsi recalls, “Studying in
Baguio City was not easy for us. I had to buy all that I needed. But for me,
material things were not so important. I only had a pair of shoes, four
T-shirts, and two pairs of pants until I graduated. Many of my boardmates helped
me, offering food and clothing because they observed that I was always eating
kamote and walking to and from the school.” “Gapu ta kayat ko a
makalpas iti eskuwela, inanosak amin a rigat ti biag. Ti kamote ket importante
la unay kanyak gaputa isu ti mangipalagip kaniak ti napalabas ken kasano ngay
ngata ti biag dagiti napopobre no awan daytoy?
(Because of my strong determination to finish my studies, I tried to overcome
those difficulties in life. Kamote is very important to me because it reminds me
of the past, and I’m always thinking that, what will happen to poor people
without kamote), she said. Kamote has three new
varieties: the VSP-1, VSP-2 and the VSP-3 which can be harvested within 105 to
115 days. The traditional kamote takes from five to seven months before
harvesting. This plant also is a good source of vitamins A and B, Calcium, Iron,
Potassium and Sodium that other plants do not have. Kamote
can also be fermented into vinegar and wine. All
these are reasons why kamote production in the country has been
increasing, making it a valuable commodity. Upland indigenous
communities in the Cordillera and nearby provinces subsist on kamote
mainly because rice, which is grown on narrow strips of rice terraces, usually
lasts for a only a couple of months. Kamote is thus the main staple food
throughout the year. Rice production has been
destroyed by forest denudation in the whole region which depletes water
irrigation as well as by artificial farming that was introduced during the
Marcos dictatorship’s Green Revolution. Northern Dispatch/Posted by Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
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Northern dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat