Former rebels get aid in seaweed farming project

MALUSO, Basilan – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Livelihood Enhancement and Peace (LEAP) Program, and the British Embassy, are providing some 50 former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels with the means to farm seaweed here.

Under the program, beneficiaries will receive production inputs, which will be used for one seaweed production cycle. This is expected to produce almost a ton of dried seaweed in just 45 days, a doubled amount of what typical seaweed farmers harvest in the area. Dried seaweed sells for P25 per kilogram in Zamboanga City, the region’s economic center.

The LEAP beneficiaries are expected to use the income to continue and expand production, just like their predecessors. Noel Ruiz, LEAP chief of party, indicated that "90 percent of the program ‘graduates’ continue to farm seaweed, and over half have expanded production activities." "Seaweed farmers have been able to send their children to school, pay debts, make household improvements, or expand production," Ruiz noted.

Maluso is located at the southwestern portion of Basilan. It is about an hour’s trip by land from the province’s capital, Isabela City, which is in another 45-minute boat ride from Zamboanga City.

Seaweed is farmed along coastal waters using floating rafts or lines. This method is environment-friendly because floating rafts do not damage existing coral reef ecosystems. The natural quality of water is maintained since no fertilizer and chemicals are applied in the production process.

Seaweed is processed into carrageenan, a gelling agent that is used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and microchip industries.

The Philippines is one of the largest suppliers of this product in the world, which earns over $100 million annually in exports. Approximately 75 percent of the production comes from Western Mindanao.

Meanwhile, some 200 LEAP beneficiaries and their families in Tuburan, Basilan are preparing for the first ever Seaweed Harvest Festival in March. Organizers said that they are "very excited" because "this is the first time our place will be highlighted as a site for economic activity in the province."

The LEAP Program is a successor program to the Emergency Livelihood Assitance Program (ELAP) which provided some 13,000 former MNLF combatants with the assistance needed to initiate commercial level production of corn, rice, or seaweed.