DTI, DENR jointly pushes bamboo Industry in Region 9

Posted by Mindanao Pagadian Frontline

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (Sept 30, 2014-MPF News) --- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Depatment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) jointly pushed the Bamboo industry in Region 9, DTI Official said.

DTI Provincial Director Maria Socorro M. Atay said Tuesday that  a  1-day “Pulong-Pulong sa Industriya sa Kawayan” that they are conducting today will be a consultation and at the same time an Educational and Information Campaign for the Bamboo Industry attended by the different government agencies at the Four-Queens Hotel here.

Attending are the Bamboo Furniture sectors, carpentry and investors together with the DENR, DA, Dep-Ed, DOST DOLE, DAR, TESDA and DTI, Atay said.

DTI is now releasing P3.4 million worth of 12 Equipments and machines to the LGU and to the cooperative of Bamboo producers in Ramon Magsaysay, Zamboanga del Sur to support their Bamboo industry that will be the first of its kind in Region 9, Atay said.

And tomorrow will also be a launching of Bambooseton a garden or nursery of different kinds of Bamboo in Ramon Magsaysay jointly conducted by the DTI and DENR. This is the first for the Region 9 to launch, Atay also said.

Before Bamboo is called a poor man’s timber or lumber because it is commonly used by the poor people for their Kubo (nipa huts) and their furnitures. But today, bamboo is already considered as dream gold to have a house made of bamboo materials, DENR Forester Bamboo Specialist Gregorio E. Santos said.

Bamboo is more durable than wood and we have 200 species of Bamboo here in the Philippines with a total of 53,000 hectares remaining, Santos said.

The mass planting of bamboo will be one of the solutions on the economic problem in our country today. It is also easy for mass production, can be planted anywhere up to 1,800 below sea level and it is a fast growing plant in the planet that will grow 100 centimeters in every 24 hours and will last for many centuries and can be harvested within 3 years, he said.

It is considered as one of the best plants in the planet with 1,200 species in the world that will help solve our climate change problem and great for erosion control and Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration and oxygen and energy or fuel producing plant, he explained.

“If coconut tree is tagged as the “Tree of Life”, bamboo too can be considered as one because everything out of bamboo are usable and will not be wasted. Its Labong (bamboo shoots) is the best food which is rich in fiber, carbohydrate and good for anit cancer,” he further said.