The history of abaca is linked to the history of the Philippines. I spoke with Patricia Irene Dacudao, PhD, an economic historian and associate professor at the Department of History of Ateneo de Manila University, and author of the multi-awarded Abaca Frontier: The Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformation of Davao, 1898–1941, who was kind enough to share her knowledge.

Abaca (Musa textilis) has been used in the islands that would later become the Philippines long before the Spanish arrived. Though there may be archeological evidence of this indigenous crop being used on boats and ships, the first written account is from a Westerner in the 17th century, mentioning it as textile. Some Indigenous Peoples, such as the Bagobo and T’boli tribes of Southern Mindanao, still use abaca textile to this day.

Abaca trade began in the 19th century, gaining popularity when the Spanish opened the Philippines to world trade, particularly with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which cut down travel time between Asia and Europe.

Though the Spanish may have been using abaca in their maritime activities at that time, it was really the British and Americans who turned it into an industry. “New England companies started buying abaca from the Philippines and called it Manila hemp,” Dacudao explained. “It’s called hemp, although technically, it does not belong to the hemp family. It belongs to the banana family, a cousin of abaca.”

Abaca was reaching the Americas either through the Pacific or by way of Europe, through British traders who sold the fiber to ropemakers in Boston. “Abaca as a cordage plant was much longer than the other hemp… [its rope did] not need to be tarred (coated in tar for waterproofing purposes) because it can withstand salt water… so it was lighter.”

The crop was mainly grown in smallholder farms in the Bicol region. “Abaca was growing wild, so a farmer will plant it in his own small plot of land and then the merchant house will go there to buy,” Dacudao said. It was a small industry compared to the giants of the time, sugar and coffee.

It would come to Davao in the 20th century, pioneered by former US Army soldiers and volunteers. “If you’re talking about the Davao abaca boom, that’s the first half of the 20th century… when we were under American rule... the top buyer was the American navy, but there’s also other buyers like the British and the Japanese,” Dacudao said.

“...when the Americans came, they maneuvered to have most of their products going to their market, and abaca was one of them. Abaca did not have any tariff… [Historian] Norman Owen would say we had a natural monopoly of abaca because no other country in the world grew [it].”

This is not to say that the other countries didn’t try. There were attempts to grow it in places like Sumatra and Panama. “When the Philippine legislature knew about it, they banned exporting abaca seedlings,” Dacudao said. “During the American colonial era, our legislature had a protectionist stance on our economy.”

Dacudao herself owes her existence to Musa textilis. “It was abaca that drew my grandparents to migrate to Davao,” she said. “It was a very cosmopolitan Davao. In the 1939 census, the Davao province (now Region 11) had the most number of languages [and] peoples. [There were] 25 nationalities there because people from all over the world were all interested in the crop… including my grandfather and his elder brother who were doctors for an abaca plantation company.”

Abaca’s lifespan as an export crop ended in the 1950s due to a confluence of factors: fields were left unattended, plants were ravaged by diseases, and demand lessened because of the rise of synthetic fiber. “People abandoned the fields or planted another crop, like bananas… because they’re cousins, and they can grow in the same conditions,” Dacudao said. “That’s why in the 70s, bananas became the top export crop for Davao, not abaca anymore.”

Things are changing, however. Aside from its use in traditional handicrafts and indigenous textiles, there are Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority and Philippine Textile Research Institute programs to innovate for modern use. Dacudao mentioned its use in car manufacturing in Germany, its potential as a polymer, as well as current innovations on abaca stripping machines invented in Davao in the 1920-30s, pointing to a rise in demand.

“In terms of why abaca is important, well, I’m an economic historian and there’s money to be made [in] abaca production,” Dacudao said. “I think the current abaca industry just needs… to be open to innovation, because when I was looking at the history of abaca in Davao and why Davao boomed during that time, it was because of innovation.”

She finds it funny that as a historian she advises a repeat of history by trying new things. “I say that because I study the past and innovation was one key. So, in terms of that paradigm, embrace technology and try out new things, because when we did agricultural innovation in the past, cities were created,” she said.

“Agriculture is a source of our wealth, and we should keep supporting that.”