Catanduanes abaca farmers get P4.4M abaca-stripping machines

By Edna Bagadiong

VIRAC, Catanduanes --- Abaca farmers are encouraged to make good use of the machinery that the government has provided to boost and sustain the production of the province’s Manila hemp for the local fiber industry to improve.

Portable spindle machines designed to strip abaca faster are essential for efficient fiber processing to address production gaps and improve farmers’ income, Governor Joseph Cua said.

Last Wednesday, Nov. 6, portable spindle machines worth P4.4 million were distributed to six abaca farmer groups across Catanduanes.

These were delivered through the Department of Labor and Employment’s Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), in partnership with the Philippine Fiber Development Authority (PhilFIDA), and the provincial government.

Farmer Maria Theresa Molod, a resident of Barangay Sto. Niño in the capital town of Virac, said that with this program she and her colleagues in the Sto. Niño Farmers Association will be able to elevate abaca processing and enable them to achieve better fiber quality.

“Dakulang tuwang ini sa samong mga abakaleros, kung saen mas mapapadari ang proseso asin kalidad ning hibla ning abaka na samong magigibo syempre mas mataas man ang presyo ning abaka na samong ipapabakal sa merkado,” she said.

(This will be a great help to our abaca farmers because it will speed up the processing and improve the quality of the abaca fiber that we produce. With this, our abaca products will command good prices.)

Araceli Tesorero of Genetligan Abaca Farmers Association (GAFA) shared Molod’s sentiment, saying the initiative would advance abaca fiber production practices and improve the quality and marketability of their abaca fiber.

“Samong pinasasalamatan ang DOLE asin ang Gobyerno Probinsyal ning Catanduanes sa inisyatibong ini na ang obheto maitaas ang kalidad asin mapadari ang pagproseso kan abakang samong nagigibo sa paagi ning makabagong mekanismo asing natatanging serbisyong agricultural,” she said.

(I thank the Department of Labor and Employment [DOLE], and the provincial government for the initiative to enhance the quality of our product using these modern machines.)

During the turnover of the stripping machines, Cua assured abaca farmers that additional funding will be allocated for abaca production and pest control, encouraging the island’s 13,000 abaca farmers to increase their output.

Gerry Rubio, head of the Provincial Public Employment Office (PESO), had announced that the provincial government has provided a project counterpart funding of P1 million. In addition, the PhilFIDA will conduct training for cooperative members on the operation of the machines this month.

Abaca farmers’ cooperatives that have received the stripping machines include: Sto. Niño in Virac with 48 beneficiaries, Genitligan in Baras with 30 beneficiaries, Tubli in Caramoran with 33 members, San Miguel with 55 members, Salvacion in Bagamanoc with 75 members, and Salvacion (Tariwara) in Pandan with 87 members. (PIA 5/Catanduanes)