The country’s long-neglected natural rubber farmers yesterday took the first step in elevating their status from mere producers to manufacturers when they organised themselves into a national association in a day-long activity in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.
An estimated 2,000 rubber farmers coming from as far as Basilan Island Province, Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga Region, Northern Mindanao, the Muslim Region, Davao Provinces and other areas surrounding North Cotabato arrived as early as 6 a.m. for the first ever attempt to form a national organisation.
Named as interim chairman of the National Association of Rubber Farmers was Armando Pedregoza of Antipas, North Cotabato, son of one of the pioneers in the rubber industry in the province who himself sent this children to school through the income of his rubber farm.
Interim members of the board were also selected to represent the different provinces.
Rubber farmers from Palawan, Negros Oriental, Calabarzon Region, Cagayan Valley and Abra who were not able to come will later be organised by the Department of Agriculture so they could be part of the national association.
Right after they were organised, the Dept. of Agriculture committed an initial assistance of P2-M which the association could use to prepare a national directory of all rubber farmers who will then be given membership cards.
An office space was also offered by the Dept. of Agriculture to the National Association in the DA Experimental Station in Balindog, Kidapawan City.
There was endless excitement on the part of the farmers many of whom brought their own food so they could participate in the government’s first attempt to form a national organisation of farmers.
The Dept. of Agriculture initiated the organisation of the rubber farmers into a national group in preparation for the planned establishment of manufacturing facilities, including a Philippine tire factory.
Two weeks ago, two executives of the Black Donuts Engineering of Finland visited the Philippines on the invitation of the Dept. of Agriculture to look into the prospect of establishing a tire factory using locally produced rubber.
The Philippines has over 140,000 hectares of rubber and the sap-producing tree has been propagated in the Southern Philippines for over 100 years now.
The rubber production, however, has always been exported and the pricing was determined by the international market.
The Dept. of Agriculture intends to support farmers in organising themselves so they could get into joint venture agreements with investors who are eyeing the establishment of a tire factory in the Southern Philippines.
(Photos of the National Association of Rubber Farmers organisational conference by Bibo Alcala, DA-AFID)
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