Senatorial candidate and incumbent Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero wants the province to become the top producer of Abaca fiber in the Bicol region following the inauguration of the Philippine Fiber Industry and Development Authority’s (PhilFIDA) new facilities in Juban Municipality, Sorsogon.
The PhilFIDA, which serves as an attached agency to the Department of Agriculture (DA), has strengthened its position in the province as the newly-inaugurated facility features the Tissue Culture laboratory and a four-hectare abaca nursery farm.
“The provincial nursery, more or less four hectares if I am not mistaken, is just in the beginning of its development. We will develop this provincial nursery to maximize its potential. In the end, we want to make it a model and demo farm, particularly for the Provincial Agriculturist Office and also for the seedlings of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office,” Escudero said in a press statement, Sunday, Feb. 20.
The facility was inaugurated last Jan. 28.
According to PhilFIDA Regional Director Mary Anne Molina, the Tissue Culture laboratory will allow the production of 1,000 pieces of abaca from just one abaca sucker or seed.
“So the propagation of abaca is easier. It is faster for us to reproduce and there are more benefits. The agency aims to provide technical service such as distributing and propagating plants via the tissue culture method,” Molina explained.
The Bicol region is currently the top producer of abaca nationwide and while Sorsogon used to be the top contributor to this standing, Catanduanes province has overtaken it and is currently the highest contributor of abaca in Bicol.
The new PhilFIDA facility was funded by the Sorsogon provincial government, is open to all abaca farmers, investors, researchers, even tourists, and is expected to restore Sorsogon's abaca industry.