MANILA, Philippines - A movement to help address unemployment due to the global economic crisis through the production of malunggay was launched yesterday. Malunggay can be used as food, biofuel and animal feed.
Former interior secretary Joey Lina led the launching of the “Malunggay Republik” which he said “is the answer to many issues and problems, from malnutrition, poor health, to poverty, unemployment, among others.”
Lina, a former Laguna governor and current president of the Manila Hotel, said overseas Filipino workers who lost their jobs can now shift to malunggay production as an alternative means of livelihood.
He said the Malunggay Republik is an informal movement borne out of his Sunday radio program “Sagot Ko Yan” aired over radio dzMM.
Danny Manayaga, president of Secura International Corp., said there is a very big potential in malunggay since there is a huge demand for it in the international market as an alternative source of biofuel, food fortifier and animal feeds.
“There is a need for more malunggay growers in the country to fill the demand in the international market, and it can create one million jobs in the next one to two years,” Manayaga said.
Malunggay, known in England as moringa and in India as sajina, has been found by biochemists and molecular anthropologists to be rich in vitamins C and A, iron, and high density lipoprotein (HDL) or good cholesterol, according to Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office Director Alicia Ilaga.
Studies have also shown that malunggay seeds have been found to be one of the most effective water purifiers.
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