MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon (PIA)--Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang met with stakeholders at Cawayanon, San Miguel, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, February 9, in line with possible collaborations in the bamboo industry.

Lawyer Burt M. Estrada, Bukidnon Tagoloanon Mulahay Ha Kabukalagan Agriculture Cooperative (BUKTAMACO) CEO, said in 2020, the cooperative was able to start on a bamboo project together with RIZOME Philippines and other partners during the "hard lockdowns" of the pandemic.

"These [bamboo plantations] are not yet existing; you see bamboo everywhere but not in a plantation setting," said Estrada.

BUKTAMACO planted Dendrocalamus asper, which is also called "giant bamboo," as an experiment to see how it grew and to figure out how to make a bamboo plantation that would last.

This bamboo is a giant tropical and subtropical dense clumping species native to Southeast Asia and is ideal for use as a building material for heavy construction, and its shoots, or bamboo sprouts, are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and broths.

Estrada said, "We learned of the demand for our bamboo, specifically the variety here in Bukidnon—the giant bamboo. We were tapped to do the experimental planting, and we collaboratively wrote a proposal to USAID to fund 1,100 hectares of giant bamboo plantations in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental as part of what we call the Mindanao Bamboo Value-Chain Development Project."

The goal of the project is to look into an undeveloped bamboo value chain that would let Mindanao planters make the most of the unique technical qualities of the giant bamboo that is only found on Mindanao.

According to Estrada, as of February 2023, there were already 225,950 seedlings planted on 1,066.77 hectares of land.

USAID Philippines, BUKTAMACO, and partners implement a two-year Mindanao Bamboo Value Chain Development Project. This is a bamboo reforestation campaign for climate mitigation, adaptation, and social impact among indigenous communities.

For his part, Undersecretary Mabborang said there are "two tracks: one is technology, and the other is policy and governance. As early as now, the local government units should come up with policies and some resolutions that will help entice locators later on in the area to invest [in the bamboo plantation]."

Mabborang and staff from the DOST regional office also went to Cagayan de Oro City to see RIZOME Philippines. This was the first company in the Philippines to make a wide range of eco-friendly bamboo building materials, such as bamboo slats, veneers, panels, laminated veneer lumber, and laminated strand lumber.

By providing a more environmentally friendly option, the company hopes to change the way people build homes. This will help fight climate change and global warming, since bamboo is very good at storing carbon, preventing flooding, and protecting forest watersheds.

Russell Smith, RIZOME President & CEO, said the giant bamboo in Bukidnon is "strong as steel, tough as concrete."

Smith also believes that the giant bamboo found abundantly in Bukidnon is the world’s best bamboo. (SAYU/PIA-10)