Tuesday, December 19, 2006 Gov’t, private sectors need to build up abaca industry
GOVERNMENT and the private sector should combine forces to build up the abaca industry in order to boost rural employment and family income, Ca-marines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte said.
“As a potential driver of economic growth in the countryside, the industry has been grossly underrated. To begin with, we have yet to fully exploit all possible commercial uses of the plant as well as its fiber,” Villafuerte said.
In House Resolution 354, Villafuerte urged the Department of Agriculture’s Fiber Industry Development Authority (Fida) to immediately draw up “an aggressive and determined plan” to advance the abaca trade, which, he said, “faces an extremely bright future.”
“Fida has to produce a broad development strategy that Congress can then consciously support with ample funding,” he said.
“The blueprint should include sound and actionable recommendations to remove industry snags and deliberate measures to propel growth in an orderly manner,” he added.
Harvested
Abaca is a specie of banana native to the Philippines. The plant is cultivated in 26 provinces in Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Mindanao.
The plant grows about 20 feet tall and is harvested mainly for its large leaves and stems that produce the world’s sturdiest known natural fiber, called Manila hemp.
Used primarily to make twines, ropes and carpets, abaca fiber also has multiple applications as raw material for various functional and decorative products. The fiber is used in clothing material and handicraft like bags and baskets. The pulp is processed into tea bags, coffee filter, vacuum cleaner bags, currency notes and other specialty paper.
Elegance
Abaca-based furniture and fixtures—from settees to lounge chairs, from dividers to coffee tables, and from sofas to loveseats—are also widely recognized for their elegance in Europe and North America.
Studies have likewise identified abaca enzymes for use in high-value cosmetic and dietary products.
“Abaca is definitely one of the most fascinating plants in the world. Its fiber alone has an assured future,” Villafuerte pointed out.
He stressed the need for improved abaca farming as well as fiber processing technologies that would raise both efficiency and product quality.
Demand
The country still covers 90 percent of global demand for abaca fiber. However, Villafuerte lamented that annual production growth had been hampered by decreasing yield per hectare, and dwindling land area devoted to cultivating the plant.
“Apart from propagating new, disease-resistant plant varieties, we have to ensure that abaca farmers, processors and exporters have ready access to adequate financial, technical, marketing assistance as well as infrastructure support, “ he said.
The country’s biggest abaca pulp miller, Newtech Pulp Inc., earlier said it expects to export 11,000 metric tons this year compared to 10,500 in 2005.
The firm said abaca pulp exports would surely grow faster once new industrial uses become widespread. (PR)
