'YACON' AN ALTERNATIVE TO MARIJUANA FARMING

BAGUIO CITY: Regional line agencies, led by the Cordillera police,
signed Wednesday a memorandum of understanding supporting the
propagation of the "wonder" crop called yacon as an alternative to
illegal marijuana plants.

The mass production of yacon, a root crop, is being pushed because it
sells like hot cake in Baguio and in the rest of the region.

Convinced by the crop's nutritive and medicinal value, consumers are
buying yacon at P35 to P40 a kilo.

Officials who signed the agreement acknowledged that the mass
production of yacon could help achieve the Arroyo government's bid to
make the country drug-free by 2010.

The Cordillera police have reported that many farmers in the
hinterlands of Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province plant
marijuana because it's cheaper and easier to grow, and it "sells great."

Law-enforcement agencies reported earlier that the four Cordillera
provinces supply almost 70 percent of the total marijuana harvest in
the country.

Rep. Solomon Chungalao of Ifugao, one of the first politicians to
endorse the mass production of yacon, has requested the Department of
Science and Technology to explore the processing possibilities of the
crop.

Earlier reports said the DOST has determined the advantages of the
tuber, such as its being pest-resistant and the fact that it can be
grown organically.

The yacon, which can treat diabetes, has high-fiber and low-calorie
content and contains properties for treatment of kidney problems. It
is said to be good for skin rejuvenation, serves as body cleanser and
blood purifier, a good fertility enhancer and helps in the treatment
of insomnia and colon cancer.