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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
'Tuba-tuba' growing gaining ground
TUBA-tuba (Jatropha curcas) farming is slowly gaining acceptance among landowners here and in Sarangani province as efforts are up for the establishment of a demonstration farm to convince more farmers to propagate the crop.
Benjamin Figueroa, president of the Malungon Fruit Growers Association, said tuba-tuba plantations have lately sprouted in the area due to its promising potential in the market.
Tuba-tuba is a rich source of biodiesel that is considered an alternative to the depleting global supply of fossil fuels.
Biodiesel is being promoted also as an environment-friendly fuel.
Figueroa said there are now around 300 hectares of tuba-tuba plantations in this premier port city popularly known as the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines."
He added that he is eyeing the development of two hectares of tuba-tuba and so far has planted some 1,000 pieces of such crop in his farm in Malungon, Sarangani.
"I'm moving to make this a showcase of profitable tuba-tuba growing. Eventually, this would become a demonstration farm where farmers would learn the rudiments of propagating the crop," he said.
Figueroa, who plants tuba-tuba in between his mango trees, said representatives of D1 Oils Asia Pacific, Inc., a subsidiary of D1 Oils UK, recently egged him to grow the crop and make this project a model farm in the area.
In its website, the Singapore-based D1 Asia, said future demand for biodiesel is expected to pick up in Southeast Asia, a region with a suitable climatic condition for tuba-tuba growing.
Last year, D1 Asia 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 through the cultivation of tuba-tuba.
According to D1 Oils, the project would 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.
Five tons of jatropha oil seeds can produce two tons of biodiesel.
In the Philippines, the price per kilo of jatropha fruits is placed at P10. A hectare of jatropha could yield 250 kilos of fruits in the first year;1,000 kilos in the second year; 3,000 kilos in the fourth year; and 6,000 kilos in the sixth year onwards.
While Tuba-tuba is a rich source of biodiesel, it is considered inedible as it contains acids that could kill human beings. (RBS)
For Bisaya stories from General Santos.Click here. (This section is updated every Monday)
(March 13, 2006 issue)
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