MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

AgriBusiness and Countryside Development Foundation  Office: 22nd Floor Multinational Bancorporation Centre, 6805 Ayala Avenue, Makati City 1600   Tel: (02) 577 7678 or 817-1511  Fax: 811-1024 Cell No: 09177777172  Email: [email protected]  Website: www.map-abcdf.com.ph

22 September  7:30 to 9:00 AM  Missionaries of the Child Jesus, Estrella St. cor. Amapola St., Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City

Developing the Palm/Kaong Industry in the Philippines By Dr. Lorenzo C. Lapitan Jr.

Preliminaries

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:30am, the new Filipino time of being on time. The Philippine and Finland flags and national anthems were honored. The Chairman welcomed all to the 32nd weekly meeting of 2015. He introduced the foundation as a group of dynamic, talented men and women who want to non- Violently change the society through technology transfer. The Chairman shared how it took his driver 4 hours to travel from Antipolo to Makati due to Traffic. Stuart Bloom had suggested that buses should be allowed to use the rail of the MRT. Other options proposed: ban private cars at certain times, opening up of gated communities, Improvement of mass transport system, pattern recognition in CCTV, political will, etc.

Go around

Ed Rojas is with the MFI, the CSR arm of MIB, an investment bank. Peter Manzano was a lawyer and is a budding farmer. Danny Venida is with a farm coop and is a columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, once every 2-3 weeks. To him on the earlier discussion of traffic, it is symptomatic of a bigger problem. Stuart Bloom is a scientist concerned about food security, climate change, etc. Carolina Young handles the agricultural part of their farm estate which also provides hydro Power. She expressed the desire to become a corporate member. Robert Yupangco comes from the Zoomanity Group with its Paradizoo focused on agriculture in Tagaytay and Mendez, Cavite. Julius Labrador helps individuals such as farmers with his inventions like the VCO producer called The Coco Genie. Nina and Ruel Lasala were referred by Manny Quasay. They do community organizing in San Luis, Batangas especially focusing on the environment since they are in the Balayan Bay area. Nina And Taal, the more popular places. To the right and left are Anilao and Calatagan. San Luis is blessed with lowlands, highlands and marine areas. The communities make noodles from Vegetables like squash, capsulized herbs, juices from , bamboo, and she is here now As she sees potential of kaong. Ric Blancaflor spent 23 years in government. He always comes back to the forum to reinforce his having left the government which cannot seem to solve simple problems like traffic. He said it should be like AA which starts by accepting the existence of a problem. Others in attendance who were not able to introduce themselves: Philip Young, Oscar Gendrano, Agnes Cordero, and JB Badon.

The forum

Introduction of Speaker

Peter Manzano was requested to introduce today’s speaker. Dr. Lorenzo C. Lapitan Jr. (Junn) is a forester, environmentalist, volunteer community worker, and educator. Junn was the founding Director and In charge of the Cavite State University Sugar Palm Research Information and Trade (SPRINT) Center. Junn pioneered the development of the kaong industry through nursery management, biodiversity and product development. His professional expertise are in Farming Systems, Biodiversity Assessment, Participatory Development and Agroforestry. Junn is a Board of Trustees of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, President and Chair, Upland Cavite Habitat for Humanity, Indang Satellite, Most Outstanding Faculty Member, 1998. In 2014, he garnered the Distinguised Alumnus Educator Award. Junn is a member of these professional and honor societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Crop Science Society of the Philippines, Society of Filipino Foresters and Philippine Forest Resources Society.

Please see the complete power point presentation at www.map-abcdf.com.ph under Resources and Meetings. We capture below significant points raised in the forum that are not explicitly found in the power point presentation. Thank you.

1. Junn focused on kaong having seen its neglect and underutilization. It is not as prominent like the palm. 2. Kaong is found in Southern Tagalog to Mindanao. Northern Luzon does not have it. 3. He would discourage the use as dessert so that new seedlings can be raised. It seems that normally people do not plant kaong, they have been done so by animals thus are usually found in easements and public areas. 4. The leaves have been overharvested. A tree usually has 12 leaves. It takes 2 leaves to make a hard broom which costs P10.00 so Junn said justice is not given the kaong. 5. Farmers also often burn plants. Baits are used to trap alamid cats for pulutan. 6. Kaong is a wonder crop like coconut since all its parts can be put to productive use. 7. From Cavite, the kaong ropes are brought to Batangas at the pier for use. It is also used to catch shrimps. 8. The floor polisher brush is made of kaong. 9. A “tali” costs P110.00, it has been cleaned but not processed yet. 10. The male does not develop to fruit. It is used to get the sap/ for tuba. 2 weeks preparation time, sap is usually taken once in the morning and again in the afternoon totalling about 10 liters per day. A coconut tree gives only about 2 liters of sap per day. To keep the sap pure, especially when it is running, it is covered. 11. Price of kaong and coconut is comparable. 12. Its community made spiced vinegar tastes like Pinakurat. 13. The sap when heated and evaporated can become or sugar (boiled). 14. Kaong sugar is low in glycemic index better than , nipa, buri and coco sugar. 15. Kaong ethanol production does not compete with food production. Kaong can be planted alongside other crops. In Mindanao, the kaong pith that yields starch is used for its popular “’. When the pith is chosen, one sacrifices the fruiting and flowering. 16. Seeds eaten by animals like civet cat, will still germinate.

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17. Kaong & coconut are same. Coconut has VCO which kaong does not have. But sap production of kaong is 5 times higher than coconut. 18. Top countries supplying kaong : Indonesia, Thailand and India. The Philippines is way below. 19. Most probably the kaong that we have in the Philippines was introduced from Indonesia. It has become naturalized already. 20. The development of the industry has been in small strides. It had some government support but none yet from the private sector. There is no 1 government agency focused on it. PCA is purely looking after the Coconut Industry only. 21. The industry roadmap involved various stakeholders under auspices of DOST. 22. The Indang Farmers Park is a community based nursery that currently has supply of 25,000 seedlings. 23. They hold a patent for the kaong brown sugar. They have available training modules for sap, brown sugar, vinegar, and yunot/rope making. 24. Planting for kaong 3x3 m for areas in slopes and 5x5 in flat areas. 1 hectare for 400 seedlings in flat area and 1000-1100 seedlings in areas in slopes. Can be in farm or open areas. It performs well with other crops. It is not suggested though that it be intercropped with coconut as they belong to 1 family. Cocolisap did not affect the kaong. 25. Kaong is immune from pests and diseases. 26. Bring Kaong Back (BKB) campaign involved planting as many kaong as involving as many people from 100 groups including schools, businesses and churches. 30,000 seedlings were planted in 3 years with sponsors like Jollibee, Bank of Tokyo, Shell, etc. 27. It became a multi-awarded extension project. 28. Though the kaong has been here for years there was no sustainable program for the industry. Cavite is doing the kaong sugar but not yet in other parts of the country. 29. Bats eat the kaong seeds but the bird most likely do not as they are too big. 30. It is a good reforestation species over the woody perennials. There is no need to severe the tree to benefit from the sap. It will be good for the current NGP. It is only cut after its productive life. The fiber can be harvested 3x without physio effects. 31. Oscar Gendrano shared that guerillas used kaong seeds boiled in water to fight the enemies as it caused itchiness. Junn explained this is because of the calcium oxilate crystals in the substance surrounding the seed. Because of this, it might have a large commercial value for pesticides and biological warfare. 32. In response to Danny Venida’s query, Junn said the roadmap was made in 2012 and has to be revisited now. 33. To the Chairman’s comment, Junn said Cavite, Batangas, Laguna have kaong. 34. Robert Yupangco asked for the kaong health benefits and Junn referred to the low glycemic index of the kaong brown sugar. A drawback of the kaong is its long gestation. Which human intervention can improve through irrigation, use of fertilizers, etc. to enhance growth, It mainly propagates by itself. 35. Junn underscored that after 10 years, it is guaranteed that 1M can be earned from a tree especially for vinegar and sugar. 36. On the Chairman’s query, Junn said there is a shortage of plants. For ethanol production, 200 hectares needed. 37. No special equipment is needed to make the brown sugar. A frying pan/vat/ ladle/ source of fuel are what you need.

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38. Nina Lasala said kaong vinegar is comparable to . She said by harvesting the fruit for dessert, local employment is generated. On the rough brooms, aside from it selling at low price, there is ecological damage as the top soil is swept away by it. Nina shared that they have products such as , , salabat, kaong sugar. 39. Yes, kaong can benefit from Breeding and Selection and biotech referring to tissue culture 1:1. 40. Oscar mentioned that UPLB must have had genetic research already done. It was said that the development of macadamia nuts also took time; with its marketing focus it became a huge success. 41. In 5-7 years as long as the canopy has not closed in, wide array of crops can be planted with kaong like ginger, turmeric, corn, rice, etc. 42. Peter Manzano sought clarification as he was interested in the kaong sugar. Daily sap production per tree is about 10-12 l/day unlike coconut sap which averages 2 liters a day only. I liter of sap turns to 110 grams of brown sugar. The process involves heating and evaporation. The ph of the sap is crucial. Ph of 6 or higher is brown sugar. Ph of 5.5-6 is syrup. Ph of lower than 5.5 is vinegar. 43. Stuart asked for ROI which was not available. It seems they need an investment bank. 44. To Philip Young’s query, Junn said when the fruits are already mature, tapping does not seem to affect the fruits. But when the fruits are still small, tapping causes natural thinning causing 50% to fall. 45. The rope/yunot is from living trees, from the appendage of the leaf and is known for its durability. 46. Fruits are currently being bought at P50.00 per bunch which takes 2 years to produce. That is why advocate for not eating them but using them for planting. If left on their own, there will be 20% survival rate. If assisted by human intervention, it will improve to 60%. 47. Each seedling costs P35.00. In 1 year, 1 million should be ready for planting. Animals like cattle, goats eat the leaves. And may be trampled upon by people. 48. Ric Blancaflor expressed interest in bioethanol which as now comes from cane sugar in the Philippines. Junn shared that there is a village hub under the Masara Foundation which has a video showing the bioethanol production from sap. It is organized with various hub stations and 1 centralized facility. 49. For Stuart, it is a seed issue. The Chairman seconded this saying if the seeds are so cheap, it might be more economical just to broaddcast the seeds. Junn said it is time to give assisted regeneration. 50. Philip Young was curious about the assisted programs in Capiz which Junn said there is no news about what happened. Junn went on to say that he is aware Davao also had its SDC Asia. 51. The shelf life of the seed is up to 6 months. 52. Philip was told that harvest will go on as long as there is male inflorescence. 53. In Cambodia, it is the national tree and is mainly used for its brown sugar. It has already been commercialized. 54. Sugar cane sugar currently sells at P50/k while kaong is 7 times more expensive at P350.00. Kaong brown sugar is more expensive than . 55. For domestic consumption we have a steady demand. 56. Training modules for sap, vinegar, brown sugar, yunot are available at their office. 57. The sugar palm tree is a God given one. Let us use it to bless others.

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Closing

The plaque of appreciation together with the 2 books of the Chairman (Different and Quantum Mutations) were awarded by Peter Manzano to Junn as today's guest speaker. The next forum meeting will be about Kita.Kapwa.Kalikasan/ Profit. People.Planet for Community Enterprises by Jay Lacsamana of FSSI. It will be next Tuesday, 29 September 2015, same time and place. The final part of the forum, the private interaction with the resource speaker and with the other attendees was declared opened after adjournment of the meeting.

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