BI-MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF ARmm inDUSTRY cluSTER capacity EnhancEMEnt PROJEct (aiccEP) ARMM offers tax incentives AICCEP to rubber industry investors forms group to continue DAVAO CITY - Hun- Economic Zone Authority and Economic zone with dreds of rubber players, (REZA), highlighted the in- 129 hectare-wide interna- clusters investors and farmers vestment incentives during tional standard port ideal from all over the country his talk on investment pri- for rubber industry exports COTABATO CITY -- gathered here during the ority areas and logistics for flow, other agricultural and - To make sure the six in- Second Philippine Rubber investors eyeing ARMM to industrial products. dustry clusters under the Investment and Market En- invest in the rubber indus- Hajan reported also ARMM Industry Cluster counter (PRIME) with high try. the smooth relationship Capacity Enhancement Project will continue to officials of the Autonomous Hajan said the incen- now with the Bureau of function actively even after Region in Muslim Mindan- tives include exemption Customs (BOC) after the the termination of the proj- ao luring investors to the from duties and taxes on signing of Joint-Memo- ect, a committee has been region with tax-free incen- merchandise, tax credit for randum Order with BOC formed to draft a “sustain- tives. import substitution and ex- chairman Alberto Lina and ability plan” to be submit- Sakiran Hajan, Re- emption from port duties, the REZA-ARMM. ted to senior adviser Tetsuo gional Secretary of ARMM export tax, among others. Among key activities Inooka of Japan Interna- Department of Trade of Specifically, ARMM during the PRIME forum tional Cooperation Agency. Industry and chairman offers its special economic were business conference, “We need to come up of the board of Regional zone in the Polloc Freeport turn to page 6 turn to page 6 PHILIPPINE SEAWEED HARVEST. Seaweed output in the island of Tawi=Tawi is expected to keep rising in the years ahead as the seaweed industry cluster set up nurseries in selected coastal seaweed farms. Photo shows a boy showing off clumps of newly-harvested seaweeds Cluster Bulletin before drying them under the sun on wooden platforms. VOL. IV NO. 3 SEPT-OCT 2015 PHILIPPINES DTI to train SMEs set up industry clusters TOP OFFICIALS of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, JICA cites impact of the Department of Trade Zambales, and Aurora. and Industry said they will “For this year, SMERA provide cluster training for (SME Roving Academy) is 3,800 micro, small and me- geared towards capacitat- clusters on farmers dium enterprises (MSMEs) ing SMEs on how to prepare INDUSTRY clustering success is expect- workshop. in Central Luzon this year, themselves for bigger and more complex markets, free Inooka reminded Big demand in a bid to make them more ed to have a significant economic impact on competitive in local and in- trade, and the development farmers and bring more investments in the the cluster teams that for abaca ternational markets. of climate-smart industries Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao they had already cov- DTI officials said their in the context of climate ered 20 months out regional offices will imple- change and the global val- (ARMM). in motoring ment 152 cluster training ue chain,” the Trade depart- of the total 28 months sessions in 116 towns of Re- ment said. Senior adviser Tet- AICCEP. of the JICA-ARMM industry gion III, mostly in Bulacan suo Inooka of Japan “This is an indus- and Pampanga, along with turn to page 6 project and have only MANILA— Abaca is International Coop- try capacity enhanc- eight more months to now one of the newest ma- eration Agency (JICA) ing project, it’s not a go before the end of terial of choice for today’s Malaysian palm producers cited the collaboration training program for the project next year. modern car, not some so- phisticated, reinforced to expand in Mindanao among national gov- the industry. That’s “At this point, we metal but one of the old- MALAYSIAN palm oil of the largest crude palm ernment agencies, the why we want you to need to start thinking est fibers in use, one that’s producers are seeking fresh oil producers, became the academe, local gov- organize your clusters of how you can sustain used for dashboards and opportunities in the Phil- first foreign palm investor ernment units and the very well to sustain car interiors — the lowly ippines, aiming to build to consider Mindanao for your industry cluster abaca commonly used in private sector in every your activities and plantations in the country’s expansion. activities and projects making ropes, handicrafts southern region. “The potential for ex- industry cluster under projects in the coming once this project is and even paper money. Mindanao can offer pansion is there but it de- the ARMM Industry months,” Inooka told Just recently, abaca land to palm oil produc- pends on how the govern- over,” Inooka said. found its niche in the au- ers looking to expand but ment and industry play- Cluster Capacity En- ARMM cluster teams tomobile industry as the face a scarcity of land areas ers can solve any current hancement Project or during a recent Davao turn to page 6 “strongest natural fiber in their own country, Ma- problems,” Malaysia Palm material” for dashboards and car interiors, accord- laysian Palm Oil Council Oil Board Chairman Wan Chairman Lee Yeow Chor ing to the Department of turn to page 6 Science and Technology, told business reporters in which is backing a multi- Manila. million peso program to re- “For Malaysian palm vive the abaca industry, for oil producers to expand , local application in many they have to look outside sectors and as top export their own country and cer- item. tainly the Philippines, es- Abaca, known world- pecially the southern Phil- wide as Manila Hemp, is ippines, is one of the areas ARmm inDUSTRY cluSTER capacity an economically important to look at,” said Lee. EnhancEMEnt PROJEct crop native only to the Phil- A number of Malay- A PROJECT OF ippines, being the lifeblood sian palm oil producers of more than 200,000 farm- had planned to expand in ing families from 56 abaca Mindanao some years ago, growing provinces in the but held back due to secu- country. rity issues in the southern Japan INTERnational The strong fiber is also island.. COOPERation AGENCY a top export commodity of After the Manila gov- ARMM RUBBER FARMERS of Basilan island had a rare opportunity of visiting a rubber processing the country with an aver- ernment and Muslim reb- plant in Lamitan City after a series of training lectures and workshops in rubber farming age of US$80 million an- conducted by the city government and the rubber industry cluster under the ARMM. Training els began to talk peace and nual export earnings. In DEPARTMENT OF the proper ways of growing rubber, tapping the rubber latex from the tree and processing reach an agreement in 2012, TRADE & INDUSTRY the rubber under strict quality standards, are all expected to boost the quality of rubber in turn to page 6 Felda Global Ventures, one PHILIPPINES Basilan. PHILIPPINE CLUSTER BULLETIN SEPT-OCT 2015 PROJECTS Big turnout at coffee field school in Sulu JOLO, SULU -- A large ues of the DA field school farmers’ field school ex- turnout of enthusiastic cof- training program with cof- pressed their willingness to fee farmers for a Farmers’ fee experts from the DA change their old traditional Field School project here providing the lectures and ways of coffee farming and overshot the coffee industry workshops on the correct replicate the new things cluster’s target of 120 farm- way of coffee farming from they learned at their own ers to 170 farmers or an ex- planting, soil management, farms,” Ahalul said. cess of 50 participants. pest control, applying fertil- Training kits and agri- “So many coffee farm- izer, proper harvesting, etc, culture supplies were pro- ers here were so interested etc--- everything the coffee vided to each coffee farmer to join the Farmers’ Field farmer needed to know on who participated in the field School even if we targeted Good Agriculture Practice school training workshop TAPPING THE LATEX from a rubber tree the correct way, rubber farmers in Basilan had a field only 120 farmers but we or GAP. which require every coffee day of trying out their newly-found skills after days of training and workshops conducted can’t turn them away, so farmer to show hands-on by the ARMM rubber industry cluster team. Photo shows one batch of rubber farmers doing “All the coffee farm- we allowed them to join actual tapping demonstration to show how far they have learned the correct skills from their ers who participated in the turn to page 6 field instructors. the field school” says coffee industry cluster chairman Abdusali Ahalul. Lamitan rubber farmers Sulu coffee In a recent Davao meet- ing with consultants of Ja- train on better tapping farmers pan International Coopera- LAMITAN CITY -- A tion Agency, Ahalul said the rubber farmer’s skill in tap- setting up extra 50 farmer participants ping rubber latex from the were recommended to the bark of a rubber tree can nurseries field school by the coffee determine the quality and farmers’ cooperative chair- quantity of the latex that JOLO, SULU --- New man and approved by the coffee nurseries in this is- can be harvested in a rubber provincial agriculturist of- land province have been fice under the Department plantation. set up during the last few of Agriculture. Recognizing the lack of months after coffee farmers skills among Lamitan farm- went thru several lectures Four organizations of ers in properly tapping rub- and hands-on demonstra- coffee coops and associa- tions in four sites in Sulu COFFEE NURSERY.