By JESSIE REYES
LIBACAO, Aklan – With the visit of Dr. Emil Javier, president of National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) to this town, it is possible that Libacao will pilot the Philippine Agriculture 2020 in abaca production.
On August 10, Javier came to Libacao and visited the towns of Uyang, Manika and Dalagsa-an where he inspected the viability of abaca production.
“The demand for abaca in the international market is increasing but our production is always slowed down by viruses and typhoons,” Dr. Javier said.
Abaca plantations, particularly in Eastern Visayas and Bicol, were infected with viruses and damaged by typhoons.
After finding out that Libacao’s abaca is of high grade quality and are virus-free, Javier advised Mayor Charito Navarosa to maintain the status of the abaca.
“With his connections and recommendations, we can expand our abaca production,” said Navarosa who aims to make Libacao the pilot site for abaca plantation of the Philippine Agriculture 2020 program.
To speed up the country’s abaca production, Javier said there is a need to expand labor productivity, the use of fertilizer and of machines as abaca production is still being done through hand-stripping.
Hand-stripping only yields one percent fiber whereas with the use of machine stripper, two percent is yielded.
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