Both the Old Age Center of MCCA and the Food Service Program of MOE received 770 lbs of Ngesuas from the ROC Embassy.
MOE Chief of School Management Sinton Soalablai and Food Service Program Manager Veronica Kazuo accepted the donation on behalf of MOE; and Minister Faustina Rehurer-Marugg was on hand to accept the taro on behalf of MCCA.
“We have the honor to present this taro to Minister Faustina Rehurer-Marugg and Veronica Kazuo,” ROC Ambassador Maggie Tien said on Friday. “Both the MCCA and the MOE have been taking good care of the community needs, especially the elderly and the students.”
The MOE serves free lunch program to public elementary school students; and the MCCA through Bureau of Aging and Gender prepares 60 meals for homebound elderly patients and 60 meals for elders who come to the Old Age Center every day.
The taro are products of the Taiwan Technical Mission Farm, a 10-hectare tourism garden in Aimeliik.
“According to our understanding, based on many research, the nutrients in terms of carbohydrate in taro is much better than that of rice,” Tien said.
At the Old Age Center, many of the elderly women have their own taro patch. Tien said they want to help restore the wonderful tradition and custom of taro planting in Palau.
“And Minister Marugg is an exemplary model for that,” Tien added. “She has her own taro patch at her farms in Ngaremlengui and Ngarchelong.’
Marugg thanked Tien the Taiwan Technical Mission in Palau for donating “and giving us this nutritious taro, especially these Ngesuas.”
The Minister shared that it was the Ngesuas that saved American Samoa from taro blight. It was found that the highest yielding taro variety was Ngesuas, it is known to have resistance to Phytopthora leaf blight.
“Now American Samo is back to its Taro culture,” Marugg said. “So in most meetings that we attend in the Pacific, they always thank Palau for saving Samoa from the taro blight.”
There is over a hundred varieties of taro in the world, but the Taiwan Technical Mission only grows six species of taro in their farm, including the Ngesuas,
“Those are the strongest and most resistant to negative impacts,” Tien explained.
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