LOS BANOS, Laguna—There are many nutritious vegetables in the Philippines. And to increase the consumption of healthy and safe vegetables in the country, indigenous vegetables were documented in a project being implemented by the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). Among those identified were himbabao, pako, lubi-lubi, lagikway and gabi. A total of 104 indigenous vegetables have been documented in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Capiz, Iloilo and South Cotobato, while another 55 plant species are for verification. Prof. Nestor C. Aitoveros of the Institute of Crop Science, College of Agriculture and Food Science of UPLB, and his team documented the indigenous vegetables from the different parts of the country, to discover how Filipinos utilize them as food. He also reported the intraspecific variation of roselle, amaranthus, lima bean and lupo in the provinces. Aitoveros added that his team has collected 73 literatures from various sources and found that more than 208 species belonging to 100 genera are indigenous and are being utilized as food in the Philippines. Renelle C. Yebron, interim head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Sub-Section of Crops Research Division of Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), congratulated the_project team for the recent successful launching of the publications. To feature the project’s outputs and to showcase the different indigenous vegetables in the country, social-media accounts were launched. The collected information is stored in two database management systems developed by the team consisting of primary and secondary data in production, conservation, utilization, and national and local literatures on indigenous vegetables. The outputs of the project are expected to contribute to one of the goals of the Industry Strategic S&T Program to increase consumption of healthy and safe vegetables in the country. The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology-PCAARRD.