BANGUED, Abra (PIA) – Community folks from five municipalities in Abra have learned can hnow to produce their own flour during the two-day Emergency Food Reserve Training of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
DOST Abra provincial office officer-in-charge Aileen Malangen said the training is focused on ensuring food security especially during disasters and emergencies.
“Lagi tayong nahi-hit ng mga calamities so it’s high time na magamit natin itong mga crops natin as emergency food reserve. Ang purpose nito is to have food reserves especially during disasters or emergencies na hindi tayo makalabas pero at least nu adda dagitoy nga flour nga stock, adda ti pagalaan tayo latta ti nutritious food nga lutuen tayo [We are frequently hit by calamities so it’s high time that we use our crops as emergency food reserve. The purpose of this is to have food reserves especially during disasters or emergencies that although we cannot go out, we still have flour that we can cook to make nutritious food],” she explained.
Student-participants from the La paz Integrated School prepare to make Swiss Roll using ube halaya made from the non-wheat flour they produced during the Emergency Food Reserve Training held at the DOST-Abra Office in Calaba, Bangued recently. (Photo courtesy: PIA-Abra)
Epifania Bayudang of the Alibtak Farmers Association from San Ramon East, Manabo was thankful for the opportunity to attend the training that taught them to make non-wheat flour using local crops like cassava, kamote, malunggay leaves, and mung beans.
“Daytoy nga training ket napintas para daydiay baking project mi ta makitak ket mayat met ta adu ti naadal mi. Dadiay project proposal mi ket bakery tapos agluto kami ken mabalin kami pay nga agaramid kami ti sarili mi nga flour [This training is good for our baking project because we learned a lot from it. Our project proposal is a bakery project so we can now make our own flour],” Bayudang said.
Other participants from the La Paz Integrated School and members of different organizations from Manabo, San Isidro, Lagayan, and Langiden were also trained to make food products such as polvoron and swiss roll out of the flour they produced from local crops.
DOST-Abra Officer-in-Charge Aileen Malangen shows the steps in making non-wheat flour using local crops during the Emergency Food Reserve Training of the DOST held in Calaba, Bangued recently. (Photo courtesy: PIA-Abra)
Aside from ensuring food security during disasters, the skills training also opened livelihood opportunities especially for local farmers.
“This is also a way of encouraging our farmers na magtanim kasi once na nag-commercialize ang mga assisted organizations natin, they will be needing supply so basically magkakaroon ng ready market ‘yung mga farmers natin dito,” Malanged shared.
She also added that the flour made from local crops, if processed properly, has stable shelf life that can last up to a year.
The Emergency Food Reserve Training is under the Local Grants-in-Aid project of the DOST for the La Paz Intergrated School. Malangen said that other associations assisted by the DOST were included to maximize the training.
The LGIA aims to tap the scientific and technological abilities of communities towards sustainable development through promoting appropriate technologies to improve productivity and quality of life. (JJPM-PIA CAR, Abra)
