DepEd instructs public schools to plant Malunggay trees

MANILA, May 6 (PNA) -- The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday announced that all public schools nationwide are now required to plant at least 50 malunggay trees.

In a DepEd Memorandum No. 234, s. 2008, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus noted that, “school administrators should encourage the planting of malunggay (Moringa oleifera) trees in the schools and communities through the integration in Science classes and school community outreach projects.”

Lapuz said the order signed last May 2 is in pursuant to the agreement between DepEd and the Department of Agriculture.

"Planting malunggay trees will translate to huge savings not only for the department but for the families of students,” he added.

According to DepEd-Health and Nutrition Center Director Thelma Santos, malunggay is the subject of interest in many researches and studies due to its nutritional benefits and its versatility as a plant.

Santos said malunggay is touted by scientists as the "miracle vegetable" because of the many diseases it can cure.

Malunggay is known to cure beri-beri, which is caused by deficiency in Vitamin B1, and rickets, caused by a lack of Vitamin D and Calcium.

Department of Education’s Health and Nutrition Center officer Magdalene Portia Cariaga said malunggay recipes will also help curb down incidence of undernourished students in all public schools.

To combat the expected rise in the number of undernourished students, the use of flour made from coconut, squash, camote and malunggay will be promoted in all public schools nationwide.

Earlier, Cariaga said the department recorded 17 percent of undernourished children in school, or about two million. The percentage is expected to increase to more than 20 percent this school opening.

“We are thinking of innovative means that we can implement in school like teaching teachers on how to make bread using flour that came from malunggay, camote, squash and coconut,” he said.

Cariaga noted that products made out of the alternative flour are nutritious and low in cost and easy to prepare.

Known as Horseradish tree in English, malunggay originated in India and is widely consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Its many uses include cropping, animal feeds and is also tapped for biogas and diesel production. It is used as a domestic cleaning agent and fertilizer. Its leaves are an outstanding source of Vitamins A, B1, and C, Calcium, Potassium, and Iron.

DepEd's School Nutrition Program seeks to provide the nutritional needs of children in public schools.

The "Gulayan sa Paaralan" project was launched last year to promote food security in schools and communities.

Alongside with malunggay, the department has also been providing full-cream choco milk, iron-fortified noodles and biscuits to targeted public schools nationwide.