Dr. Lorenza G. Lirio attended an international symposium on underutilized plant species for food, nutrition, income and sustainable development in Tanzania last March 2 – 7.

     Discussions in parallel thematic sessions during this symposium incorporate the contributions of underutilized plants in food security, their roles in family and society nutrition and health, the challenges and opportunities in marketing and the effects on environmental sustainability and biodiversity.

     They also toured around the famous Arusha National Park which is rich in game animals that can be viewed at a close range.

     Lirio, a biology professor and a researcher chaired the session on March 4 after she presented a research on Semi-Temperate Indigenous Vegetables for Better Health and Food Security.

     She stressed in her presentation that the neglected indigenous edible species are widely available and scientists around the world should make people become aware of them for wider consumption.

     She pointed out that indigenous foods found in the locality are very rich in nutrients that have been poorly reported in scientific literature. Hence, the academe should exert effort to strategically incorporate findings of this research in the school's curriculum for wider dissemination.

     "For a strong nation, we must help promote the nutrition needed for a well-educated, healthy and productive workforce", Lirio added.

     Prof. Lirio, together with Prof. Louisa Pladio, Dr. Manuel Balcita, Lito Ayyokad and Joyce Paing authored this research which was adjudged second best development paper in Agriculture and Natural Resources by PCARRD-DOST-NSARRD in the Philippines .

     The researchers, in addition, documented species of indigenous vegetables found in Cordillera in a book entitled, ‘Indigenous Semi-Temperate Vegetables of Cordillera′.