MACROECONOMICS OF ABACA PRODUCTION

MACROECONOMICS OF ABACA PRODUCTION

Dear Mr. President: I have a question and since I could not get a clear answer in online sources, perhaps you could help me get the right answer? Does the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) use local or imported abaca materials for the Philippine banknotes? All the while, I thought that BSP has been using local abaca materials all along, but the artificial intelligence application Microsoft Copilot says that it uses imported abaca.

Copilot also says that the BSP uses 80% cotton and 20% abaca to produce the banknotes, but the cotton materials are also imported, just like the abaca materials. That to me, is very sad news Mr. President, because I was really hoping somehow that the time will come, sooner or later, that cotton could be grown in the Ilocos Region, to replace the tobacco crop, because of the latter’s dwindling markets.

I understand that studies have shown that cotton can be a viable crop to grow in Ilocos Sur, it is not practical to grow it, because other crops like garlic and watermelon could have higher returns on investments, due to their higher prices. Much as I could not contradict that data, I still believe that cotton could be a viable additional crop to grow in the Ilocos Region, if only a local market could be developed for it. Perhaps that market could be developed by the BSP, if only they would buy local cotton.

As of now, there are no government reports yet about how much damage the recent typhoons have done to the Bicol Region, especially to Catanduanes, specifically to their abaca industry. What is now a no-brainer Mr. President, is that in order for Catanduanes to recover, the abaca industry must be rebuilt, and that means the government must now work double time to help that industry develop and market its abaca derived products.

About six years ago, the DOST announced that “The time may not be long before the country develops the capability of producing banknotes as Department of Science and Technology (DOST) researchers have crafted a technology that can produce currency bank paper (CBP) from local indigenous materials”. Since that time however, nothing has been heard from neither DOST nor BSP.

If only the technology announced by the DOST could be used by the BSP, it would become more economically viable for the government to invest in abaca, and all related products that are derived from it. Not only that, but there are also new developments that could bring new life to the abaca industry, and that includes a new fiber yarning machine invented by the National Abaca Research Center (NARC) at the Visayas State University (VSU). The machine could produce higher quality yarn at a faster rate.

Hopefully, very soon, a newer and better version of “Manila Hemp” will emerge, one that is still organic and biodegradable, but stronger because it will be blended with a bioplastic film that will be using a nanocellulose material extracted from abaca fiber. This new material developed by the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the DOST will not only replace conventional rope, but it will also replace traditional petroleum-based plastics and reduce plastic waste. Hopefully, this innovation will improve the macroeconomics of growing abaca. IKE SENERES/11-03-2024

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