AFTER traders stopped sourcing abaca-daratex fibers from farmers in Talaingod, the local government unit said it will facilitate looking for a market for the abaca-daratex fibers and help the farmers shift to other abaca varieties that meet the standard of buyers.
“As its long-term intervention, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Talaingod, the 56th Infantry Battalion and the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte have independently planned for interventions to address the current issues enfolding the market channel of abaca –
daratex fibers and the enforced change of crop variety,” Jonnie Libayao, Talaingod Municipal Mayor, said in an official statement released to SunStar Davao on January 24, 2023.
Libayao said the crop varieties that will be cultivated are tangongon, inosa, and maguindanaon, which are considered genuine abaca varieties and according to the standard quality required by the buyers.
This also guarantees a secured market opportunity, said Libayao.
Aside from this, the municipality has appropriated P200,000 for the establishment of a 0.5-hectare abaca seed farm with at least 25,000 tangongon abaca seedlings as a future seedling source.
He added that training will be conducted for the farmer-beneficiaries to equip them in rearing the crops.
“Should the LGU find a source of abaca seeds,... plant nurseries made of indigenous materials will also be established in selected sitios to reduce the hauling cost of the planting materials as well as decrease the mortality rate of the seedlings due to stress of the seedlings during hauling/transporting process,” he said.
Meanwhile, Libayao said the daratex abaca fiber, also known as fake abaca, market was being monopolized.
“The LGU is planning to open its doors to other legitimate abaca merchants or traders so that the local farmers can pick the traders of their choice. The idea is a potential avenue for having a fair trade of the fibers, which might result in a better quality of fibers and competitive buying prices,” he said.
The ongoing abaca fiber crisis due to the “stop-buying” incident in Talaingod since October 2022 affected 2,638 families. KSD