Starting next month, October, about 2,000 poor families who own marginal lands in the flood and landslide prone areas of North Cotabato will be given 200 Giant Bamboo Propagules each, or 400,000 seedlings, as part of the Giant Bamboo Industry Development Program.
The farmers do not need to pay for the planting materials as the cost of the propagules will be deducted from their income when they start delivering the bamboo poles to a processing facility which will be set up next year.
The “Plant-Now-Pay-Later” Program is not new because I promoted it when I was Governor of North Cotabato from 1998 to 2007.
Started by my predecessor, the late Dr. Rosario Diaz, the program involved the distribution of planting materials of Rubber, Oil Palm, Banana and Coconut and was credited with reducing the Poverty Incidence Per Family (PIPF) of Cotabato from 52%.
There was a flaw in the program though and that was the absence of a complete value chain which could have boosted the farmers income.
Learning from that experience, the Cotabato Giant Bamboo Industry Development Program will feature a complete value chain with the establishment of a Bamboo Processing Facility and a Buy-Back-Scheme.
I was able to convince a group of friends who believe in my advocacies to invest in the Bamboo Processing Facility costing about P150-M.
What is remarkable about this program is the fact that no government funds are involved.
The support provided by the local leaders led by Gov. Nancy Catamco will just be the endorsement of the program and the identification of qualified beneficiaries.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
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