Dumarao town tops bamboo grooves survey
ROXAS CITY – About 320 individual owners of bamboo plantation in Dumarao, Capiz have been registered by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in its survey on bamboo production within privately-owned land in the province.
The survey ranked the towns of Dumalag and Tapaz in the top three local government units (LGU) with the most number of bamboo plantation owners.
The vast private land bamboo grooves are commonly grown with “botong” and “kawayan tinik” species which are being targeted by the government’s massive bamboo dispersal growing to provide employment to thousands of workers displaced by the global financial crisis.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Engr. Merly Cruz revealed that various government agencies are now laying the groundwork for a coordinated work to develop the bamboo into a billion peso industry.
A DTI portal news said that under the government’s Comprehensive Livelihood Emergency and Employment Program (CLEEP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be responsible for the bamboo nursery and dispersal growing while the DTI will develop it into winning products for both local and export markets.
The online news added that DENR will employ farmers mostly from participants to the Out of School Youth Serving Toward Economic Recovery (OYSTER) and displaced workers to set up nursery for bamboos.
The setting up of nurseries will be followed by the purchase of the seed for dispersal program.
“Some 2,000 targetted beneficiaries will be tapped and trained by the DENR to handle nursery/growing of seeds.
Bamboo belongs to the grass family and has about 1,000 species. It is described as the fastest growing plant on Earth and has been measured to grow as fast as 121 centimeters (47.6 inches) in a 24-hour period. (PIA/A.Lumaque)