Month: June 2023

Bamboo Law passage to prop plantation expansion, capital into industrial plants, free government land use offered for commercial plantations

By Melody Mendoza Aguiba

June 26, 2022

The urgent passage of a law to develop the bamboo industry is seen to prop up capital influx into  farms and industrial plants in line with incentives including exemption from rental fee of government lands for commercial bamboo plantation.
   The exemption for five years from rental fee of government of lands and tax free importation of equipment are the principal incentives proposed under House Bill 7941.

   The bill, approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives last May 30 was immediately transmitted to the Senate for approval.
   Bamboo advocate Deogracias Victor B. Savellano, former House deputy speaker, said the immediate approval of the Senate of House Bill 7941 augurs well for the bamboo industry that has been waiting to be developed for years now.  
   Executive Order 879 which created the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) was signed in 2010.  

   “The Marcos Administration can be known for a bamboo-led industrial development given immediate ratification of this bamboo law.  We just have five years now, but surely we can manage the resource that we already have in abundance,” said Savellano, PBIDC current vice chairman.

   “We can even use bamboo to comply with our climate change mitigation commitments.”
   In the Senate, at least five bamboo development-related bills have been filed in the last Congress.  These are Senate Bill (SB) 605 with Senator Miguel Zubiri as principal author, SB 615 (Senator Cynthia Villar), SB 1044 (Sen. Joel Villanueva), SB 1145; and SB 1552 (Senator Lito Lapid).

   House Bill 7941 strengthens the power of PBIDC  to develop the industry through policies that encourage planting and development of bamboo product designs.
   Under the approved House version, private plantations registered with the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are exempted from securing a cutting permit for the harvesting of bamboo.   These are exempted too from securing a transport permit for the bamboo materials.
   Bamboo plantations are also exempted from the payment of forest charges and other fees for taxes that LGUs may impose.   
  PBIDC convenes producers of raw materials, processors, marketing and promotion companies, and national and local government and agencies to discuss strategies to revitalize the bamboo industry.

   By itself, PBIDC’s programs will be guided by Cabinet-level agencies including heads of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Education, among others.
   DENR earlier placed the global market for non-timber forest products at $17 billion as of 2020.    

   Isidro C. Alcantara Jr. of Philippine Nickel Industry Association said annual revenue can hit $3 billion if only the Philippines can plant at least 10% of China’s bamboo area.

   Some of the uses of bamboo include house construction, infrastructure, paper, furniture and handicrafts, charcoal and pyroligneous liquor, textile, and clothes. Other uses are for production of food products from bamboo shoots, bamboo beer and medicinal products.  Bamboo pellets can be used for power generation.
   The Philippine Bamboo Industry Program that will be implemented by PBIDC will ensure the sustainable production of quality raw materials; develop relevant technologies and new products; and produce accurate/reliable data.  It will also promote investments; put up capacity building programs that will generate skilled labor; and ensure provision of locally manufactured machines.
   Savellano said that the foreseen huge economic livelihood generated from bamboo industry will pluck out of abject poverty many Filipinos and Indigenous People in rural areas who own vast ancestral lands.  The industry will further be a significant instrument for fighting climate disasters.
   Provincial governments should come up with their own Bamboo Industry Development Program within two years from  the enactment of the bamboo law.
   The legislation also provides for the access of plantations to development loans from government financial institutions.  Crop insurance will be provided too.

   Importation of equipment for plantation development, including tree nursery, will be tax free under Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).  Plantations will be accepted  as collateral for loans in government-owned-or-controlled banks.
   No volume restriction in the export of bamboo culms from plantations will be allowed.
   Industrial bamboo plantations in forest lands and priority areas will be included in the annual investment program of the National Economic and Development Authority and will have  priority access to funds  from external and internal sources.
    The Bamboo Industry Development Program will include plans of actions for the scientific propagation, development and management, processing, utilization, business development, and commercialization.

   The bill also provides for the creation of  the Bamboo Industry Research and Development Center (BIRDC) which will partner with the public and private sectors, people’s organizations and non-government organizations, and the academe for  sustained development. 
Photo: Philippines’ Giant Asper species used as engineered bamboo by Rizome for sophisticated construction. Credit: Rizome
   

Exporter Fishta enabled fishing communities in Palawan to contribute to Philippines’ export to Japan, Canada

By Melody Mendoza Aguiba

June 20, 2023

Filipino seafood exporter Fishta Seafood Inc. (FSI) has enabled fishing communities in Busuanga, Palawan to contribute to Philippines’ fishery export to Japan and Canada through its marketing effort under a USAID sustainable fishing program.

   Speaking at the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc.’s (PCAFI) “Usapang Pagkain,”    Carina Ong Tan, FSI general manager, said long term benefits to the livelihood of at least 50 women in Busuanga are anticipated.

   “Sustainability of the supply chain is something I champion and believe in.   We help the community by investing in the supply chain and by teaching people. We become the linkage (between fishermen and the market),” Tan said.

   FSI has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Fish Right  and Seatrace International Inc. to promote responsible fish sourcing, reversing the adverse impact of  Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated (IUU) fishing.  

   FSI, a spinoff from parent firm aquaculture feeds producer Santeh Feeds Corp., supplies seafoods to supermarkets, restaurants, and overseas markets from its owned or contracted farms.  These are in the form of live, frozen, chilled, and smoked products. 

   It has invested in the seafoods supply chain in order to achieve fish production sustainability, ensure its products’ safety, and reach bigger local and export markets. 

   It has invested in facilities– blast freezing, indirect contract freezing, and individually quick frozen technology.

   “This is an example of the idea of introducing innovation and market linkage direct to the source, from the fishing communities themselves.  We buy their products direct from them, and they no longer have to go to traders,” said Tan.

   “It’s a program that gives attention to the island itself.  Other fishing communities go to us for the replication of this program.  We can contribute these ideas to the seafood industry because we have access to technology and markets.  This way, we can make an impact directly to fisherfolks.” 

   With its ability for traceability, food safety is ensured. Consumers are able to send feedback on the quality of a seafood product as their origin may be traced. With traceability, the company can pull back products in the market that pose any adverse risk on human health.

   “We are still in the process of creating our RSS (responsibility sourced seafood standard) Policy to achieve 100% Traceability & Transparency in our supply chain,” said Tan.

   FSI parent firm SFC was founded by PCAFI Chairman Philip Ong in 1990.   

  SFC boasts of ISO-certified manufacturing facilities that produce optimally bioavailable ingredients for fast seafood growth and for environmental sustainability.

   FSI’s program with USAID  aims to sustain food production while protecting the seas and fish populations. 

   The USAID program recognizes that the Philippines loses an estimated P68.5 billion yearly from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing

   It has supported protection of fishery areas through key marine biodiversity areas (KMBA) in Calamianes Island, Southern Negros, and Visayan Sea.

   FSI has also  contributed to the empowerment of 50 women and their families as the Department of Trade and Industry granted them a brine cold storage facility upon FSI’s training of these women.

PHOTO Fishta links Palawan fishermen direct to consumers of value added seafood products like this Halibut