ENTREPRENEURS and representatives of the academe and local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental attended a forum on Business on Bamboo: Investment Potential and Opportunities at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol Building in Bacolod City Wednesday.
During the forum, Mayor Mariano Malones of Maasin, Iloilo gave a talk on Small-Scale Alternative Bamboo Industries.
Malones also presented some business opportunities in bamboo farming, including the production of chopsticks and barbeque sticks, among other products aside from the usual furniture.
The Provincial Economic Development and Investment Center (Pedic), which initiated the forum, said that bamboo industry is considered by the Provincial Government as one of the preferred areas of investments in the province.
On April 16, during the opening of the 23rd Panaad sa Negros Festival, the Provincial Government unveiled the development of its P5-million bamboo innovation center.
The facility will be situated on a half-hectare lot inside the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.
The P5-million project fund includes the P1 million worth of equipment with trainings as a counterpart of the Department of Science and Technology-Negros Occidental.
The remaining P4 million is the province’s counterpart sourced from the Performance Challenge Fund awarded by the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The fund also covers the establishment of a bamboo nursery and treatment facility beside the Negros First Rice Processing Center in Barangay Tabunan, Bago City.
Through the facility, Governor Alfredo Marañon said more bamboo-made products will be produced in Negros Occidental, and sold to both local and international markets.
The Provincial Government it is working on developing an industry that uses bamboo as major renewable material since it is endemic to the province’s culture and climate, he added.