DTI, SMC Global Power, ZDMC putting up bamboo plantation in Zambales

CANDELARIA, Zambales — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Global Power and the Zambales Diversified Metals Corporation (ZDMC) are set to boost the bamboo production in this province.

This June, the three institutions will start a 10-hectare iron bamboo plantation and nursery in Barangay Pinagrealan of this town.

According to DTI provincial director Enrique Tacbad, the beneficiaries of the said project are members of the Pinagrealan Lauis Upland Farmers Association (Pilufa).

Tacbad said the project will start this coming June and will come to fruition in December 2024.

Tacbad said that the project entails a 10-hectare iron bamboo plantation, an iron bamboo nursery, and a bamboo processing and treatment Facility.

“The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the bamboo project between the DTI Zambales, SMC Global Power and ZDMC was signed on 26 October 2023. With the theme ‘Masaganang Negosyo, Masaganang Buhay,’ the project aims to establish the bamboo tourism and industry in Zambales,” he added.

The signing of the MoU was led by Tacbad, SMC Global Power assistant vice president Danilo Tolarba, plant manager Roland Cabasa, Candelaria Mayor Byron Jones Edquilang, Provincial Planning and Development Office head Engr. Edwin Ebdane and Pilufa president Rolly Ruiz.

The signing ceremony showcased an art exhibit by MDRNatura that featured innovative and creative products made from bamboo.

A “Takbo at Padyak Para sa Kawayan” was also launched during the event, a fundraising for the benefit of the Zambales Bamboo Organization in Zambales.

“The signing is a precursor to big things that are coming for the bamboo industry in Zambales,” Tacbad said.

To ensure that the project will be successful, the DTI and the other stakeholders took part in a benchmarking activity at the Lubao Bamboo Hub & Eco-Park, Banco Kalikasan Environmental Movement Inc. Iron Bamboo Nursery and the Pampanga State Agricultural University Bamboo Processing Facility.

Tacbad said that Pampanga’s bamboo industry is thriving and should be replicated in Zambales.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is urging national agencies involved in advancing the government’s bamboo industry development program to commit funds to the effort to move it forward.

DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano said the departments of Trade and Industry, Environment and Natural Resources, and Education also have roles to play alongside the DA in developing the bamboo sector but the multi-agency initiative remains largely unfunded.

Savellano, who is undersecretary for livestock, said his office has been obliged to fund the regular meetings of bamboo sector stakeholders in government, including the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council.

“Processed bamboo can be a big dollar earner for the country. All concerned agencies should invest resources in the pursuit of this goal. The (bamboo) program is supported by legislation and state policies but it lacks money to get it going,” he said.

Savellano said the Board of Investments, a DTI-attached agency, can support the bamboo sector by introducing more government incentives to investors seeking to open businesses related to processing bamboo into high-value finished products such as “engineered bamboo.”

Back in Zambales, other mining companies in the town of Sta. Cruz are closely coordinating with the DTI regarding the bamboo industry projects.

Tacbad said that projects are a bamboo plantation, bamboo nursery and bamboo handicraft as livelihood aside from mango processing, cacao and coffee, lemon juice processing, and walis tambo making.

“We are also coordinating with the SBMA Ecology Department since they are interested on bamboosetum, bamboo eco-tourism hub, and bamboo livelihood projects that are set for this year. We already had initial talks with SBMA chairman and administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño and his Ecology Department on 14 May” he added.

Tacbad said that as long as the national government and the private sector cooperate, everything comes to fruition, even if it is bamboo.