Monday, August 21, 2006
Tuba-tuba turns shop into nursery
SURALLAH, South Cotabato -- Tuba-tuba (Jatropha curcas) growing has gain acceptance among residents here.
In Barangay Libertad at the heart of this agricultural town, the mechanical shop of Carlito Preston no longer has cars or motorcycles parked in front waiting for repairs.
He closed his shop a year ago to give way to a nursery for tuba-tuba, now heralded as a rich source of biodiesel.
Rows upon rows of tuba-tuba seedlings are now lined up in his erstwhile shop with his house for several decades now serving as the background.
"They are ready for buyers. That can fetch about P9,000," said Nemia, the wife of Carlito, pointing to the seedlings neatly arranged in black nursery bags under the simmering afternoon heat of the sun.
Each row of the planting materials consists of 300 saplings as tall as two to three feet.
These they sold at P10 apiece to farmers who have been caught by the "tuba-tuba craze."
Several kilometers from the Preston compound, another nursery offers tuba-tuba seedlings.
It is owned by Maria Sally Habaluyas, a prominent local medical professional.
Habaluyas has an estimated 10,000 hectares of land planted with tuba-tuba in remote Upper Sepaka village by landowners there, according to Dhats Caragan, who was manning her nursery.
Caragan, who claims to be a senior adviser of the Moro National Liberation Front in the area, has been helping farmers in the area prepare project proposals to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process relating to tuba-tuba growing.
"Farmers in this town have accepted tuba-tuba as cash crop. Some of them wanted financial help from the OPAPP so they can massively plant it," he said.
Even without financial help from the agency headed by Secretary Jesus Dureza, several farmers have been growing tuba-tuba, Caragan disclosed.
"We prepare the saplings out from our tuba-tuba farm nearby. We have buyers who come here to buy our products," Preston said.
Tuba-tuba, or kasla in Ilonggo, is considered poisonous by residents although it is said to have medicinal values for swollen joints.
Carlito, who still accept mechanical repairs on the side, said his neighbors thought he was crazy when he started his nursery.
But he was undaunted.
"Our only expenses for the saplings are the plastic bags. The materials for organic fertilizers we sourced from the farms of our friends like duck and chicken dung," his wife said.
A fruit of tuba-tuba, Nemia said, could yield three seedlings, which can be disposed off in a month's time.
This enabled the couple to support the college education of their two children who are currently studying at a state university in General Santos City.
Their weekly allowances are taken from the sales of the tuba-tuba seedlings, Nemia proudly says.
Cash or crash crop?
The fruits of jatropha are now reportedly fetching P10 per kilo. An 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.
Five tons of jatropha oil seeds can produce two tons of biodiesel.
A couple of months ago, President Gloria Arroyo made a strong pitch for the latest cash crop craze to hit town.
D1 Oils, a United Kingdom-based global biodiesel producer, has been encouraging farmers in Central Mindanao to grow tuba-tuba.
Tuba-tuba recently attracted the attention of Koronadal City, the capital town of South Cotabato where Surallah belong, even as it has been successfully grown in General Santos City and in Sarangani province.
An estimated 300 hectares of land have been planted in General Santos City with tuba-tuba owing to its promising potentials in the market.
However, North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol expressed reservations in promoting tuba-tuba as a cash crop.
"Farmers should be wary of adopting crops on the trend. Unless there is a sure market sealed through a marketing agreement, that's the only time that farmers should grow the plant," he warned.
Piñol recalled past experiences in the region where farmers were caught by the ramie and gemelina craze, only to end up with huge losses.
"That's because there was no market for the products," recalled the governor, who has been pushing for the cultivation of rubber and oil palm as the regions export products.
For Bisaya stories from General Santos.Click here. (This section is updated every Monday)
(August 21, 2006 issue)
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