#MINDANAO
In last week’s column I shared some of my own ideas that can spur manufacturing investments. (https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/7/some-ideas-to-spur-manufacturing-investments). Jumping off that discussion, I would like to focus on The CARAGA Region, or Region 13, that area of Mindanao that covers the Agusan and Surigao provinces, including Dinagat and Siargao islands. A closer look at its economy in 2023 bears striking information that sets it apart from other regional economies in Mindanao, and encourages us to look at how industry and manufacturing can grow in a regional economy.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the CARAGA region's economy grew by 4.9 percent to 339.7 billion pesos in 2023. This makes it about a third of the adjacent Northern Mindanao and Davao Region economy. However, the numbers of the CARAGA economy demand a deeper look primarily because the share of the industry relative to other sectors is at 33 percent, which is higher than the industry share of the adjacent Davao Region which clocked 24.6 percent, and even the industrial belt of Northern Mindanao’s 25.2 percent. While in numerical terms this industry share is lower than that of these two neighboring regions, the relative percentage bears greater scrutiny, and perhaps evaluation in terms of how this can be deepened and expanded to create stable manufacturing jobs.
This potential to grow industry in the CARAGA region is because it is resource-rich. The region is known for its minerals sector, hosting many nickel mines. Will attracting investments in the downstream metals processing industry such as steel plants help boost industrial growth? I believe so. Even if the minerals are no longer commercially viable to extract, the region’s’ proximity to the Pacific Ocean sea lanes makes it a good hub for manufacturing and exporting finished metal and other products from raw materials from other areas, since the trained personnel and ancillary industries supporting these manufacturing enterprises can continue to thrive.
Other resource-based sectors such as sustainable forestry will provide the raw materials that can , as I wrote in my May 26, 2024 column, a section of which I reprise here: “Being a renewable resource, maintaining sustainable wood production farms in various areas can encourage stable local employment while allowing us to replace imported building materials with renewable, locally grown ones.
Manufacturing can expand the benefits of sustainable forests. Apart from wood products, these include pharmaceuticals using rare plants from forests, and agroforestry products such as natural rubber and bamboo. Innovation and technology can play a big role in ensuring the sustainable production of wood from these production farms, which includes effective nursery management, propagation, biodiversity maintenance, replanting, and production approaches to ensure the stable supply of raw materials for use in industry. ”
Apart from these, bearing deeper scrutiny is the region's blue economy which includes mariculture and fishery sectors, which have the potential to drive further growth in industry and employ many residents. The region also has the potential to produce food. Adding value to these will create more opportunity and jobs.
Looking at how to broaden and deepen CARAGA’s industry sector, and the same sector in the different Mindanao regions is imperative since there is a need to boost manufacturing investments. These same investments drive growth in other sectors. This is essential if we are to boost the growth of regional economies over time and create stable resilient jobs for the future.