Region 8’s abaca production dips in 2015

TACLOBAN CITY, April 4 (PNA) -– Abaca fiber production in Eastern Visayas decreased by 19 percent in 2015, suffering an estimated PHP1 billion losses as plant diseases continue to wreak havoc in farms.

According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA), last year’s 8,418 metric tons (mt) output was the lowest in history since they started monitoring.

The 2015 production is 1,962 mt lower than the 10,380 mt yield a year ago. Latest figure is nearly four times lower than the actual produce in 2003.

PhilFIDA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Wilardo Sinahon confirmed that many farmers have stopped cultivating abaca in the past years due to slow pace of farm rehabilitation and expansion.

“The presence of viral disease has significantly decreased productive areas. Recovery has been very slow due to lack of disease-free planting materials, lack of farmers capital, and lack of knowledge on abaca technologies,” Sinahon said.

For more than a decade, abaca diseases continue to plague the region. Bunchy-top is caused by a virus spread by the banana aphids while virus spread by aphids causes mosaic. The virus is very devastating that it killed the whole plant, including its roots.

Also attributing to output decline are smaller abaca stalks due to soil fertility depletion and unharvested abaca in farms due to lack of post-harvest support mechanism.

For the full year, abaca fiber output in four of the six provinces in the region suffered a decline from 2014 harvest.

Leyte province recorded the highest production decline at 55.57 percent to 834.7 mt from 1,877 mt. Eastern Samar also posted the second highest drop from 606 mt to 277 mt.

Likewise, Southern Leyte’s yield fell from 1,829 mt to 1,591 mt. Northern Samar’s production slightly dipped to 5,201 mt from 5,679 mt.

In contrast, Samar’s output rose to 462 mt from 387 mt. Rehabilitation in Biliran province has produced 50 mt fiber from zero production a year ago.

The region has 46,360 hectares of abaca farms being cultivated by 31,871 farmers. More than half of these farms have been badly affected by diseases as of last year.

Abaca fiber is a raw material for manufacturing of electrolytic (condenser) paper, high grade decorative paper, Bible paper, dissolving pulp, tea bags, coffee filters, meat and sausage casings, special art papers, cable insulation papers, adhesive tape papers, lens tissues, mimeograph stencil base tissues, and carbonizing tissues. (PNA)
JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO