By
Alma L. Tingcang
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay - The 5th ZamPen Rubber Industry Cluster Team (RICT) meeting
was held yesterday, March 4, at Sibugay Grand Plaza Hotel here.
Among
the issues tackled were: Rubber Production and Expansion, Rubber Quality
Improvement Advocacy, Price Management System, and institutionalization of
rubber industry cluster team capability, among others.
In attendance were the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
Department of Agriculture-Zamboanga Peninsula Integrated Agricultural Research
Center (DA-ZAMPIARC), LGUs, academe, rubber farmers and the media.
Director Rody Galang of the
Philippine Rubber Research Institute gave updates on the status of the PRRI as
to its accomplishments.
DTI Regional Director Sitti Amina M.
Jain presented the performance of the industry from 2011-2014, which has
relatively improved in a span of 3-4 years. “Zamboanga Sibugay is the biggest
producer of rubber in ZamPen, and Region 9 has the biggest area allocated for
the rubber industry,” she said.
On the rubber production and
expansion program, Mr. Rudyard Pacas of DENR-PENRO said that Zamboanga Sibugay
will cover 3,428 hectares this year with P63,692,000 budget while Zamboanga
City’s 1,655 hectares has P30,929,000 allocation.
Dir. Jain pointed out that farmers
could also avail of DTI’s Shared Service Facility (SSF) project for the
procurement of equipment and machineries. She assured that after 6 years, the
equipment will be given to them. However, if within 6 months it is not
operational and have not been used, DTI has the authority to get it back and
award it to another beneficiary.
DTI Senior Trade Industry
Development Specialist (STIDS) Engr. Arnold L. Yap presented the Action Plan of
the ZamPen RICT for 2015-2016 which included the operationalization of the
Rubber Testing Laboratory facilities in Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur,
Zamboanga City and Isabela City to improve the rubber industry in the region.
Rubber farmers observed that it is
not how big the area planted with rubber is, but the amount of latex production
that counts much. And according to research, rubber trees sequester more carbon
dioxide compared to other trees, thus mitigating the impact of climate change.
