The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has expressed support to an initiative that will revive the plywood and veneers industry in Mindanao, a government agency said.
Secretary Emmanuel Piñol of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
MinDA said both DBP president Emmanuel Herbosa and DBP director Jeannie Sandoval, agreed to the Industrial Tree Farming Program during a visit last week to a newly opened cacao outlet in Naawan, Misamis Oriental.
The parties are yet to discuss the financial support to be given by DBP.
Piñol said the program involves the planting of fast growing trees such as Falcata as well as the establishment of processing facilities to complete the wood value chain in the region.
MinDA said Falcata is planted in many mountainous areas of Mindanao especially in Caraga.
“However, since the tree farmers are disorganized and most of the logs are bought by private processors or exported to China, prices had been controlled and manipulated. The logs exported to China are processed into plywood and veneer and sold back to the Philippines depriving the farmers of added value for their trees,” Piñol said.
MinDA said the region used to host plywood manufacturing firms and paper mills but were forced to shut down operations due to mismanagement.
Piñol added a virtual convention will be conducted before the end of the month to organize the Mindanao Industrial Tree Farming Development Council.
Last month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization will provide a funding of $1.12 million (P56 million) for the development of pilot wood processing facilities in Agusan del Sur and Negros Oriental.
The DENR said the sustainable forest management project is expected to create jobs and new export-oriented industries producing furniture and veneer that will tap unused wood from almost 4,000 hectares of community forest of which 2,115 hectares are in Agusan del Sur and the remaining 1,932 hectares in Negros Oriental.
“The Philippines needs five million cubic meters of wood or lumber per year. Only one million is from the Philippines, the rest is imported. Those that come from the Philippines are from private forests and not from community-based forest management areas,” DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said, in an earlier statement.
