The news media are currently abuzz with the story of garlic farmers in Batanes appealing for buyers for around 12.5 metric tons of their garlic harvest, which faces the risk of going to waste.
At the same time, in other parts of the country, there is a shortage of this key culinary ingredient, as the country is dependent on around 90 percent importation for local requirements.
However, all is not gloomy in the Philippine garlic industry.
A research has produced bulbs of Allium sativum, garlic’s scientific name, into black garlic that can be used as flavoring in variety of food, such as in ice cream, or as part of the Japanese-inspired “furikake” condiment.
What’s more, the Ilocos Norte-based Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU)-Garlic and Other Agri-Condiments Center that developed these delicious and more healthy food innovations is aiming to “uplift” the garlic industry in the northern Luzon region by increasing its yield and with the use of sustainable technologies, among others.
The project is funded under the Department of Science and Technology-Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development (DOST-Nicer) Program.
Black garlic is processed by fermentation through heat treatment at high temperatures and humidity for several days, said DOST-Science for Change Program (DOST-S4CP), which is leading the Nicer Program.
The process amplifies the nutrient properties of garlic, thus, making it more beneficial to health.
Black garlic, with its marketing potential, can be suited to those who are health conscious and determined to supplement their diets with nutritious food, the DOST-S4CP said.
Internet health sources said raw garlic already contains the following health benefits: helps boost the body’s immune system, reduce high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, prevents cancer, has antibiotic properties, may prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia, and can improve athletic performance. It is being used among traditional medicines in many countries.
The oil of raw garlic is even excised and sold in capsules or gels for easy consumption as health supplement.
Black garlic make these benefits more “impressive” and further boosts the enumerated health advantages of the bulb.
“The Nicer program is designed to support regional development,” said DOST Assistant Secretary for International Cooperation Leah J. Buendia, also the concurrent OIC of the Undersecretary for Research and Development. DOST-S4CP is under the Office of the Undersecretary for R&D.
“Through sustainable innovation programs like the Nicer in every region, we support the interests of every Filipino like the garlic farmers, traders and local businesses to promote national economic progress,” Buendia said.
The-Nicer Garlic and Other Agri-Condiments Center aims to uplift the region’s garlic industry by developing an integrated crop management system, enhancing storage processes, improving its usability and profitability through the black-garlic processing, and determining the key strategies in improving the competitiveness of local garlic through value-chain analysis.
Through the development of low-cost but sustainable technologies, the garlic farmers and processors are expected to increase their yield (from 3.8 tons per hectare to 5 t/ha), reduce bulb weight loss (from 50 percent to 10 percent) and increase their income (30 percent), DOST-S4CP said.
It should be noted that other Asian countries produce 10 t/ha to 15 t/ha of garlic.
This MMSU-Garlic Center project may be the answer to the woes of garlic farmers, including those in Batanes in the far north of Luzon, in preventing their produce from going to waste by providing storage facilities.
These efforts may likewise help save the stronger-tasting Philippine garlic—the favorite of knowledgeable cooks—from being overpowered by lesser-rated imported bulbs.
Image credits: S4CP