mb.com.ph; November 24, 2010, 7:39pm

MANILA, Philippines – Abaca fiber is known for its versatility.

It is used to make bags, ropes, tea bags, paper, furniture, hammocks, and world-class textiles. Many people may not know that it is also used to make x-ray negatives, optical lens, wire insulator, and automobile components.

For the Lumads of Kiamba, Saragani Province, this ivory-colored, long fiber is more than just a material but a cord of life. They have been planting abaca since the time of their forefathers. “It has been our crop and source of income,” says Erdelina Abobol, a member of the Kapate Abaca Farmers’ Association (KAFA).

KAFA sells abaca fibers to a local consolidator. Abobol, however, admits that before, their production was very meager due to the small number of abaca planted and lack of proper equipment and training.

“Our practice before was to sell our abaca fibers as raw materials produced by our manual stripper. But since it was not of good quality, it was bought very cheap, for P35 per kilo,” says Abobol. “We wanted to expand but because we are really poor, we cannot buy additional planting materials and other inputs to expand the number of our abaca plants.”

So when they learned that the Department of Agriculture (DA) had given poor farmers financial assistance, they decided to try their luck and hoped to access funding that they had been waiting for. “We thought we might qualify,” adds Abobol.

With the help of the municipal agricultural technician, KAFA prepared their proposal and other requirements and sent them to the office of the Mindanao Rural Development Program(MRDP).

MRDP is a long-term poverty alleviation initiative implemented by DA to give poor farmers and fisherfolk in Mindanao agribusiness opportunities.

It also helps local government units institutionalize an effective delivery of services to communities by capacitating municipal facilitators and attached agencies like the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA). This program has a fund of US$123.752 million. US$83.75 came from a loan portfolio from the World Bank and the rest is the equity share of the national government and LGUs.

MRDP granted KAFA P250,000. Abobol says KAFA used this to procure 2,750 tissue-cultured abaca suckers distributed to the first 11 beneficiaries, organic fertilizer, and a mechanical stripper.

“Using our old manual stripper is time-consuming, very laborious and costly as half of the total sale of abaca is paid to the stripper,” Abobol says. That is why KAFA is very grateful to the financial assistance they received.

KAFA is also thankful to FIDA for training them on pest management, plant care, planting, harvesting, postharvest handling, and processing of abaca fiber.

Moreover, “with the help of FIDA, we now make tinagak, which sells for P250 per kilo,” Abobol says. Tinagak is a continuos thread of fine quality, similar-sized fiber formed into small bales that weigh a kilo each. It takes at least four days to make one bale of tinagak. - By NOEL T. PROVIDO

Source: Abaca gives hope for Sarangani Lumads