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BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Sustaining supply of rubber and cacao raw materials
AN inventory using the geographic information system (GIS) was developed in an effort to sustain the supply of rubber and cacao raw materials in the country.
The project was developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD-DOST).
The College of Forestry and Natural Resources of UPLB (CFNR-UPLB) implemented the project, which was titled “GIS-based inventory and sustainability assessment for rubber and cacao in major production areas of the Philippines.”
The project was led by Dr. Nathaniel Bantayan, director and park manager of the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystem, CFNR-UPLB.
The PCAARRD-DOST funded the project through the Grants-in-Aid (GIA) program.
With this initiative, a national database on the different locations of cacao and rubber plantations and production areas was developed under the project.
The different locations identified in the project include the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Basilan, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Palawan, and Zamboanga Sibugay.
Experts have said that the database will also be useful in identifying possible expansion areas.
Once fully operational, the database will be downloaded to the different local government units (LGUs), particularly to their respective Provincial and Municipal Agriculture Office, Provincial and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the provincial and municipal offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Aside from generating a database of locations of rubber and cacao plantations in major production areas, the project also gathered information about the plantations and their attributes, as well as important parameters for habitat suitability and niche modelling.
Marked as possible expansion areas in the database include information on elevation, slope, mean/max temperature, annual precipitation, soil texture, and land cover.
According to the results of the project, there is an increasing trend and interest in rubber and cacao planting in Region4-A, and in Region-2.
The results also showed that the different provinces may exhibit moderate or low potential as expansion area, but with proper management, plantations can give profitable harvest.
At present, the largest recorded production of rubber is 127,188.53 metric tons in the province of North Cotabato, followed by the province of Zamboanga Sibugay at 78,093.62 metric tons.
The largest production of cacao, on the other hand, is recorded in Compostela Valley at 7,548.06 metric tons, followed by Davao City with 2,680.88 metric tons.
This topic was discussed in a forum held at the Philippine Trade and Training Center in Pasay City on the occasion of the celebration of the 2017 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).
The forum is part of the showcasing of the latest and most innovative products, know-how, and services, developed and funded by the Department of Science and Technology and its agencies.
Guided by the goal of creating a venue for interaction among researchers, scientists and innovators and the industry representatives, entrepreneurs, practicing professionals, educators, among other stakeholders, the 2017 NSTW adopts the theme “Science for the People. ((jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
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