MANILA, Philippines — Agricultural officials promoting the adlai, a kind of cereal, as an alternative to rice were puzzled to learn that in Sagada, Mt. Province, farmers and even municipal agriculture officers know little about its potential.

The adlai seeds the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) brought to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) from Region 4-A Calabarzon of (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), intrigued the locals, until Evelyn Pulon, a farmer, reported that Cesar Sawadan of Malibcong, Abra, handed her two varieties of adlai and urged her to try them out.

One of the varieties, it turned out, was edible.

Pulon took the time to show the BAR team the other variety, which grew in the wild.

She said that most locals took adlai for granted since it grew mostly near abandoned rice fields, treating it as a source of materials for beads, curtains, trays and necklaces.

After holding a presentation on BAR’s efforts in promoting adlai in Kiangan, the officials learned that farmers regarded adlai as a weed that grows by the wayside and creeks.

Jimmy Cabigat of Banaue said he and the other villagers used adlai to make necklaces when they were young and sold them for P5 apiece.

This particular variety of adlai was observed to be growing mostly in low-lying areas like riverbanks but seldom in upland areas.