TACLOBAN CITY - Abaca fiber production in the Island of Leyte dropped by 46 percent last year due to the Bunchy Top nfestation that has ravaged Southern and Northern Leyte abaca farms.

According to the Fiber Industry Development Authority abaca production was only 11,501 metric tons last year compared to 21,296 metric tons in 2008.

“The abaca disease has spread despite the government’s effort to contain it and will take years to recover,” said FIDA Regional Director Jeffrey Espeña.

Southern Leyte’s production plunged to a measly 1,639 MT in 2009 from 3,467 MT a year before.
Despite the infestation and lower abaca prices Espeña said farmers will still plant abaca because it had an established market abroad.

He added that There was still a demand for abaca plantletsin disease-free towns and this showed that farmers were still interested in planting them,”He concluded.

Over 9,000 hectares of abaca farms have been destroyed in Southern Leyte particularly in Maasin City and the towns of Bontoc, Padre Burgos, Sogod, Malitbog, Libagon, Ssaint Bernard, Tomas Oppus, Hinunangan and Silago.

The Department of Agriculture had allocated P15 million for disease eradication in Sogod, Southern Leyte and Mahaplag, Leyte last year.

But the money was not used because abaca farmers did not want to spray their abaca with the the Diazinon pesticide which they claimed had been banned in other countries because it caused cancer and disfigured the male sex organ.

Although FIDA claims it is exploring alternative treatment methods; abaca farmers in Maasin City, Sogod and Bontoc claim its reaction has come too late since the infestation has spread beyond its ability to contain.
(By MARK RIMAS)

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