ISABELA CITY, Basilan -- The Provincial Government has readied a program to make Basilan "a major producer of rubber not only in the region or in the Philippines, but in the entire Southeast Asia."
Governor Jum Akbar announced this Monday during the commemoration of the 37th founding anniversary of Basilan, citing the program is known as "Plant Now, Pay Later."
Akbar said the program aims to give sufficient support, both financially and technically, to rubber farmers in the province.
She said the Provincial Government has allocated P5 million from Basilan's 20 percent development fund for the establishment of a nursery and demo farm, as well as rubber seedling and stock improvement project.
"We will make available rubber seedlings along with vital funding support for such farm expenses as fertilizers and other inputs which may be paid back later (by the farmers) in a very affordable payback scheme," Akbar said.
She added that their main objective is to transform the underutilized upland areas of Basilan and turn them into "highly-productive, wealth-creating and employment-generating rubber plantations."
"The fruits of which shall be enjoyed by all Basileños," she said.
She said her late husband, Congressman Wahab Akbar, started a government program almost a decade ago to plant 30 million rubber trees, thus making Basilan the Philippines' largest and most valuable rubber producer by 2016.
The governor is optimistic Basilan can be a major producer of rubber, citing a comprehensive evaluation of the province's soil and climate shows that it has a distinct advantage of becoming a major producer of rubber.
Akbar said the Provincial Government is establishing a Provincial Rubber Development Office (PRDO), which will cater exclusively to the needs "of our rapidly growing rubber planters."
"Kung sa Saudi Arabia, langis ang kanilang black gold, dito sa atin goma naman ang white gold (If Saudi Arabia's black gold is oil, we will have rubber as Basilan's white gold)," Akbar said. (Bong Garcia)
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