Nueva Ecija solon calls for establishment of national bamboo, rattan program

CABANATUAN CITY – A congressman from Nueva Ecija has filed a bill providing for the establishment of a nationwide program for the development and propagation of bamboo and rattan.

Third district Rep. Aurelio Umali (Lakas, Nueva Ecija), introduced House Bill 3847 entitled "An Act Providing for an Integrated National Bamboo and Rattan Development Program."

Under its explanatory note, the bill mentioned that the establishment of an integrated program for bamboo and rattan will harmonize ecological balance with industrial development and at the same time conserve remaining natural resources.

It noted that bamboo and rattan both play a major role in agro-forestry, citing that aside from providing useful end products such as fuelwood, poles and even food, they also minimize nutrient drain due to leaching and soil erosion, restore nutrient lost from the ecosystem and other environmental services. "They also serve as wind-breakers or as shade trees in pastures and fields, helping improve the micro-climate so that animals and plants have better chances of survival," it said.

The bill also stated that bamboo and rattan can also be used as an alternative scheme for the reforestation program, explaining that while there are serious and determined attempts to replenish trees felled by loggers in some areas, the sheer size of the denuded forests and the time required to grow replacement trees necessitate an immediate and less expensive alternative.

It noted that government support for the intensive development of bamboo and rattan farms owned by forest dwellers and the rural poor can be a strategic move in upgrading the quality of life of the Filipinos.

Section 13 of the pet bill proposed the creation of a research office for the national bamboo/rattan development program to be headed by an executive director who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of an executive committee to be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) as vice chairman, and the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Chancellor of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB) as members.

The program will cover six phases – propagation or production of high quality, genetically superior planting stocks through sexual and macro-micro-sexual means; dispersal or distribution of planting materials at nominal amount; production or bamboo farming and/or plantation development and management; utilization, processing and marketing, including high value product development; training and extension, including technology packaging and transfer; and research and technology.