Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Creation of abaca dev't body pushed By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Fiber Industry Development Authority (Fida)-Southern Mindanao, is pushing for the creation of the Regional Abaca Development Council.
The council will directly address challenges confronted by the abaca industry, Fida regional director Olympio Macarayan said.
In an interview, Macarayan said the council will be composed of abaca producers, stakeholders, farmers, and government entities. He said the government entities will be the honorary members of the council.
"Fida will just be the adviser of the council. We plan to organize the council so that there will be a body for those who are involved in the abaca industry. With this, they can stand on their own and they can produce their own resources," Macarayan said.
He said that as soon as the council is formed, it will be easier for industry stakeholders to seek for assistance and request for funds needed for abaca development in the region.
Macarayan claimed that the Abaca Development Board in Davao Oriental will also be invited in the council.
"Of all provinces in Davao Region, Davao Oriental lang ang may abaca board, baka sa kanila pa nga manggaling ang council president," he said.
Macarayan earlier said that Davao Oriental is very active in initiating activities for abaca industry development.
He said among the challenges to be addressed in the region are the lack of planting materials which are free of diseases, the control of the disease in abaca, and the abaca capitalization of the farmers.
He said the market for abaca has never been a problem and an issue because it has already been established.
"Maraming identified markets ang abaca, in terms of prices naman, wala ring problema (there is no problem), stable ang prices ng abaca," Macarayan said.
