Sarangani gets P35.7-M abaca venture from DA

KORONADAL CITY – Hinterland folks in Sarangani province stand to benefit from a P35.7 million abaca venture of the Department of Agriculture (DA), an agency official said Friday.

Amalia Jayag Datukan, DA’s director for Region 12, said the project, dubbed Enhancement of Production and Marketing of High Quality Abaca Fiber Project, had been approved and shall be launched soon in viable areas.

The P35.7 million abaca propagation thrust, meant to improve the marketing ties of local producers and boost their production, is in line with DA's Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).  

It will benefit six clusters of peasants, more than 90 percent of them members of the non-Muslim highland indigenous people.

“This project will certainly improve the productivity of farmers and, as a foreseeable result, improve the lives of their families too,” Datukan told The STAR.

Abaca was cultivated in 138,369 hectares of lands in the country in 2013, according to a PRDP survey.

Mindanao accounted for 32 percent of the area planted to abaca, contributing 34 percent to the total national hemp production. 

Production volume in Region 12 provinces increased from 800.34 metric tons in 2009 to 953.65 metric tons in 2013.

Region 12 covers Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces, and the cities of Kidapawan, Tacurong, Cotabato, Koronadal and Gen. Santos.

South Cotabato steadily accounted for 75 percent of the region’s production in recent years.

Most of the farms in South Cotabato are located in the municipalities of Lake Sebu and T’boli, homes to ethnic T’boli people. 

Sarangani is the second ranking abaca producing province in Region 12, according to Datukan. 

Sultan Kudarat had an average yield of 3.68 metric tons per hectare per year.

Among the groups to be assisted by the multi-million abaca project is the United Maligang Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative in Kiamba town in the southernmost part of Sarangani province.

The cooperative has 370 farmer-members propagating various crops in 3,044-hectares of contiguous farmlands in Kiamba.

Abaca, known as “Manila Hemp” has high commercial value for its durable fibers, which has many commercial and industrial uses.  

The Philippines is a key supplier of abaca to the international market, supplying no less than 83 percent of the total global production.

“This project will boost the abaca production in this part of the country,” Datukan said.