CARP: ADVERSE PEACE SITUATION DISUADE FOREIGN RUBBER INVESTORS
By: Melody M. Aguiba - Manila Bulletin, Oct. 8, 2003

Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which fragmented agricultural farm lots and the adverse peace and order situation in the country have been blocking foreign investments in the rubber sector despite the Philippine inherent potential to become a world leader in rubber production.

Basilisa Q. Ho chairman of the Philippine Rubber Industries Association (PRIA), told a press briefing Monday that many foreign investors including French firm Michilin have been interested in putting in money in the industry but the political environment and land ownership policies where only a maximum of seven hectares may be owned have not been as attractive to lure investors into seriously venturing into it.

Ho said Korean investors were supposed to have visited the Philippines in August with an interest to plant rubber on 20,000 hectares but suddenly withdrew the plan when the July 27 Oakwood mutiny occurred.

If only government would help intensify rubber planting in Mindanao where 280,000 hectares have been found suitable for this, then peace and order problems in Mindanao could end she said.

"Rubber growing is suitable in many war areas in Mindanao specially in Basilan and Zamboanga. If rubber growing will be done here, there is no reason why people would still go to war, she said.

Elpidio L. Carlota PRIA president said the fragfmentation of farm lot is hoped to be solved through the consolidation of cooperatives such as what is happening in Basilan. Aside from land consolidation problems, he said credit is a top problem in increasing rubber planting specially as the harvest of latex, the raw material processed into rubber takes at least four years to start from planting.

He said the Quedar and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. is expected to allocate P380 million for the sector. But in order to allot funds to priority areas he said a rubber industry board will have to be set up.

Ho said that most of the lands suitable for rubber growing are owned by government or are ancestral lands. As such investors need a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) similar to the Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) in order to use the land for a long period.

The Philippines is presently top 10 among world's rubber producer while the largest producers are first Thailand with one million hectares of rubber areas followed by Indonesia with 1.5 million hectares, Malaysia and India.

"We can be top four or five. We have been planting rubber since the 1950s" Ho said. Ho said rubber processing plants in the Philippines also have to be improved since the country exports mostly raw rubber to Malaysia (which transform these materials into finished products) instead of producing value-added rubber finished products.

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