A CENTER based at the Visayas State University (VSU) is leading efforts to boost the local production of ube, or purple yam, as the root crop is slowly gaining recognition outside the country.
Also, Bohol is getting attention of the effort as the province accounts for 35 percent of the local production of ube.
However, ube farmers in Bohol are facing challenges, such as lack of planting materials, said Marlon Tambis, director of the VSU-Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center (VSU- PhilRootcrops).
“First is the lack of planting materials. Based on our scoping studies, their production practices are really not very scientific. So, there is a low adoption of necessary recommended practices or S&T (science and technology)-based practices, which we need to address to improve the yield,” he said.
To address this problem, the VSU-PhilRootcrops, together with the Bohol Island State University, led the development of advanced propagation techniques that were introduced to Bohol ube farmers.
Through the project titled “Enhancement of Ubi Production through Trials and Demonstrations of S&T-Based Farm Practices to Support Industry Development in Bohol,” VSU-PhilRootcrops trained farmers in producing quality planting materials using advanced methods like the minisett.
Minisett is a method used in agriculture, as a rapid propagation technique specifically in yams, which involves cutting a healthy, whole “mother” tuber into small pieces.
Tambis explained that in traditional planting, farmers can only produce seven to 10 planting materials from 1 kilo of Ube. But through the minisett propagation technique, farmers can produce more than 30 quality planting materials.
Moreover, Tambis said their team is working on a project to craft protocols on the use of the tissue culture method, which has the potential to produce more quality planting materials.
“Tissue culture will also be a big help later because we are also reproducing it now. [But] we haven’t released yet this year, but we target to produce millions of ube planting materials next year from the tissue culture,” Tambis said.
Another challenge for farmers is ube is considered a seasonal root crop and farmers only plant it during May-June, using the traditional planting method.
However, Tambis said it is also possible to plant in February.
“In our project, we have proven [that] February planting is possible. There are only aids in how to germinate ube in that month when it shouldn’t have germinated,” he said.
The project of VSU-PhilRootcrops is funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture and Aquatic Resources Research and Development (DOST-Pcaard).
According to the DOST, ube is gaining recognition outside the country.
For instance, as featured on various social media platforms, New York City recently kicked off its very own Ubeland Food Festival, dedicated to the Philippines’ vibrant ube delicacies.
Also, a well-known international café has also launched its seasonal “Ube Spring Drinks” series available in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands.
However, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the Philippines produced 30,074 metric tons of ube in 2006. This is more than 50-percent lower than the total recorded production of 14,000 MT in 2020.
