BEFORE END OF 2008 : 4th district to have 5T hectares of jathropa

Amidst the rising of fuel in the world market, Cebu fourth district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon said that within the year, he hopes to see 5,000 hectares of idle lands in his district, which is comprised of 11 municipalities, transformed into jathropa plantations.

Three kilos of jathropa or locally known as “tuba-tuba” can produce one liter of oil. The oil will be mixed with diesel to produce biodiesel, which is being considered as clean alternative to fossil fuels.  Biodiesel may be sold at P30 to P40 per liter.

Salimbangon said the fourth district’s sugarcane industry has been affected by the surging prices of fertilizer and rising cost of operations and labor.

This prompted sugarcane farmers to shift to growing other plants after selling sugarcane crops for only half of the cost of the fertilizers they used.

Salimbangon and the Philippine National Oil Company inaugurated the 2.5-hectare jathropa nursery in Medellin last month. 

The nursery, the first of its kind in the Visayas, is expected to produce two million seedlings for initial 100 hectares of land that has been identified as potential jathropa plantation in the fourth district.

Salimbangon said that as soon as the jathropa plantation will be started in his district, Cebu will be ready for a province-wide program of jathropa plantation and with the help of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

He is targeting 15,000 to 20,000 hectares in jathropa plantation within the next five years.

Salimbangon added that by next month, a 100-hectare demo farm will be put up in Medellin town.  Another 700-hectare jathropa nursery will be put up in four different areas in Daanbantayan, San Remigio and Medellin towns as well as Bogo City.

According to Salimbangon, 14 hectares are needed for the jathropa plantation but 5,000 hectares in the 4th district were already identified by the DENR, DA and Department of Agrarian Reform to be planted with two million jathropa seeds before the year ends.

Immediate target areas are the towns of Tabuelan and Tabogon and Bantayan Island.

Farmers are also urged to avail themselves of a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines and get assistance from a soon-to-be-established corporation that will handle the jathropa business in the fourth district.

The DENR has been urging local government unit officials to establish jathropa plantations to increase livelihood opportunities for farmers and for those to be employed in the processing plants. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP