Abaca Industry of the Philippines
By Danny O. Calleja
Outgoing Rep. Joseph Santiago of the lone district of this abaca-rich island province has cited the Spanish government for its P30 million grant for the building up of the Philippines’ abaca industry that he said remains an enormous potential driver of economic growth in the countryside.
Abaca (Musa textilis Nee) or Manila hemp, a fiber crop indigenous to the Philippines, as a main source of strong natural fibers for domestic and international markets, brings an annual US$ .6 million to the country.
The fund assistance released late last year to the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) by the Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para Desarollo (AECID), was used for the acquisition of mechanized abaca-stripping machines as part of the aggressive abaca development program being undertaken by the government.
The amount covers this province, noted as the “abaca capital of the Philippines,” and Caraga, also a promising abaca producing region in Mindanao.
Out of the grant, nine of Catanduanes’ abaca-producing municipalities initially receive one unit each of the machine, Santiago said.
“The mechanized stripping of abaca allows us to increase daily fiber output 10 to 20 times compared to what we produce from manual peeling,” Santiago who would vacate his congressional seat on June 30 after completing a nine-year term said.