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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tuba-tuba growing pushed in Sultan Kudarat
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Officials in the coastal town of Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat last week said they are offering some 8,000 hectares of land for the development of Jatropha curcas, or more popularly known as tuba-tuba plant.
Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual made this offer to D1 Oils, a United Kingdom-based global biodiesel producer.
"We believed that our lands are suitable for the cultivation of tuba-tuba. We want to cultivate the plant in our locality in line with the National Government's economic agenda," Mamansual said.
The government has recently pushed for the planting of tuba-tuba across the country to promote the use of biodiesel.
Mamansual, a former commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said local officials have submitted a letter of intent to D1 Oils to manifest their desire to adopt tuba-tuba as a major crop of the locality.
Palimbang is a predominantly Muslim town and a known MNLF stronghold but the area is now enjoying relative peace.
Presently, the price per kilo of jatropha fruits fetches P10.
Mamansual said tuba-tuba attracted their attention after it was successfully grown in this city and in Sarangani province.
An estimated 200 hectares of land have been planted in General Santos with tuba-tuba plant.
Earlier, a two-hectare tuba-tuba demonstration farm was put up in Malungon, Sarangani by businessman Benjamin Figueroa.
"I'm moving to make this a showcase of profitable tuba-tuba growing," he said.
Figueroa said D1 Oils is behind efforts to popularize the planting of tuba-tuba here and in Sarangani.
In 2004, D1 Oils forged an agreement with the Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. to collaborate on a project in the Philippines aimed at rehabilitating land previously degraded by mining area through the cultivation of tuba-tuba.
According to D1 Oils, the project will employ bioremediation, a means of restoring soil that has suffered erosion and pollution in the mining process, by planting jatropha to help replace lost nutrients.
The firm said tuba-tuba was chosen due to both its restorative qualities and its advantages as a biofuel feedstock.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (June 13, 2006 issue)
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