Agriculture Business Week

If you have the area and the money to invest, better get into sugarcane production, especially if there is an accessible sugar mill where you can take your harvest for milling.

That’s the advice of our long-time friend, Leon Arceo, the executive director of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute (Philsurin).

Sugar is in short supply worldwide and the price has increased tremendously. For instance, one pound of sugar used to sell for 8 US cents in Europe for several years. Now the price is 28 US cents. In the US, Arceo said, the price is 33 cents per pound. Since sugarcane is a one-year crop, the shortage will not be easily solved. At least in the next two years, high prices are expected to stay.

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Coco sugar and other organic products from Lanao del Norte sold like the proverbial hotcake at the 2009 National Livelihood Trade Fair at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City under the auspices of the Philippine Chamber of Handicrafts, Inc. and the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc.

Besides coco sugar, the other organic products from Lanao del Norte included honeymansi with pineapple, honeymansi concentrate plain, pineapple marmalade, bangus in corn oil packed in glass container, coco honey and coconut vinegar which are all manufactured without any preservatives.

A lot of people bought the coco sugar although the price is much higher than the sugar from sugarcane. The coco sugar is in the form of fructose which is superior healthwise compared to the sucrose in the ordinary sugar from sugarcane.

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The Development Bank of the Philippines has committed to extend an initial P11-million revolving credit line to Sultan Kudarat Muscovado Farmers and Millers Corp. (SKMFC)-to boost its working capital in behalf of the farmers and millers in Sultan Kudarat.

The loan agreement was signed during the recent Second Partners Forum for Promoting Rural Industries and Market Enhancement (PRIME) program at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management auditorium in Quezon City.

SKMFC is one of the country’s leading muscovado producers and the biggest in Mindanao with an average production of about 320 tons of muscovado sugar a month. It is composed of two farmers’ cooperatives, eight individual millers and several farmers. It is based in President Quirino, a fourth class municipality in Sultan Kudarat.

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To those who are looking for a naturally healthy sweetener, try coconut sugar which is finally available in the market.

At the recently concluded International Food Exhibition, we have found Coco Natura’s coconut sugar, which was quite similar to moscuvado in terms of color and texture. What made it different was its pleasant sweetness with a distinct coconut aroma. More importantly, this sugar is claimed to be rich in vitamins and minerals, 100 percent natural, and doesn’t contain additives, preservatives and artificial flavoring.

The coconuts used were organically grown in General Santos City where Coco Natura’s processing facility is located.

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Cornelio Jr. and Janeth Castaneda had all the reasons to be happy at the last International Food Exhibition held at the World Trade Center. The product they exhibited, organic muscavado sugar, was in great demand not only in the local market but also abroad.

Cornelio, who is the president of the Sultan Kudarat Muscovado Farmers and Millers Corporation, said they have a most pleasant problem. There is a huge demand for organic muscovado sugar which they couldn’t possibly supply by themselves and by other producers within a short time. Which means that they don’t have to worry about lowering their price so they can dispose of their produce. In fact, Comelio said he had just dismissed the ploy of a trader who said he would just buy his supply from Northern Luzon if could not be given a discount.

Recently, before they participated in the IFEX, Cornelio was invited in Manila to a teleconference with muscovado buyers from Korea and Japan. He was really overwhelmed by the demand abroad. The Korean buyer said he would like to import 600 tons monthly. The Japanese buyer, on the other hand, also wanted the same quantity.

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A new technique in sugarcane production promises to be a most timely development as it could tremendously increase yields, especially at this time when some of the local harvests will have to go into the production of biofuel.

The technique is subsurface drip irrigation. It is not really new because it is now being done in India but it is something very new in the Philippines. For the first time in the country, the technology is being used on 12.64 hectares at the Gamboa Hermanos Multi-Purpose Cooperative Farm in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. The sugarcane farm has a total area of 1,200 hectares.

Both the managers of the farm as well as the supplier of the subsurface drip system, Netafim of Israel, are very excited about the superior stand of the sugarcane crop in the demonstration farm. At the age of only five months, the canes already weigh two kilos each, according to Ted de la Torre, the agriculturist in charge of the  subsurface-irrigated crop. At this early stage, if the canes are to be harvested at the end of the fifth month, the possible yield was computed at 199 tons cane per hectare. That’s about double the usual yield of sugarcane grown under the conventional system using overhead sprinklers for irrigation. Surely, the yield could still increase tremendously since the plants still have another five or six months before harvest.

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Standarization of the conventional muscavado processing through upgrading of the facilities of sugar mills in Antique is seen to boost the province’s muscovado industry.

This was revealed by the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office VI in Iloilo City which has recently assisted eleven sugar mills in Antique under the project called “Upgrading the Muscovado Mills in the Province of Antique”.

Through its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program Innovation System Support Fund (SET-UP ISSF), the assistance was turned over by DOST Regional Director Rowen R. Gelonga to the provincial government of Antique headed by Governor Salvacion Z. Perez.

The recipients, which are all members of the Antique Muscovado Producers Marketing Cooperative in the town of Patnungon, were provided with a total of P1.1 million funding assistance in the form of stainless steel settling tank with pump assembly and a stainless steel cooling trough.

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Bronzeoak Philippines’ Jose Maria T. Zabaleta talks about the first Integrated Ethanol Distillery and Power Cogeneration Plant in the country.

Last 2006, Jose Maria T. Zabaleta was the executive director of the Philippine Sugar Millers Association, (PSMA) Inc. and eagerly spoke about his being an advocate of the use of sugarcane as a source of energy and fuel ethanol.

Today, the dynamic Zabaleta wears a different hat. As President and COO of Bronzeoak Philippines and Chairman of the San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc., the maverick businessman talks about sugarcane in a different light. It’s no longer just a mere crop from which we sweeten our foods, but also as potent source of fuel and electricity.

Together with Ms. Sheva Mehrabi, Bronzeoak Philippines’ corporate communication and marketing officer, Mr. Zabaleta giddily shared with us the huge and bright potentials of his latest project-the San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc.

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Despite the lack of education, a former tuba gatherer in Misamis Oriental and his wife have made it big in cornmilling and in corn farming.

From 1958 to 1967, 66-year-old Ponciano “Cian” Nob worked as a tuba gatherer and earned P2 for every can of tuba he gathered. He usually gathered two cans of tuba a day and, hence, earned P4 a day or a total of P120 a month. Although it was not big, his income enabled him to provide the basic needs of a growing family.

Sensing that tuba gathering would not be able to provide well for his children, Cian put up a sari-sari store along the highway in El Salvador with an initial capital of P300 in 1967. While his wife, Hipolita, attended to the store, he later engaged in hog and cattle buying. He went around the neighboring towns like Naawan, Manticao and Lugait and brought the animals to Cagayan de Oro City using a service jeep.
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Dr. Evelina Tablan, naturepath doctor from San Francisco, California who promotes the use of coconut sugar among other organic foods shared in a press conference the benefits of coco sugar.

Dr. Tablan mentioned the three cases of patients with prostate problems. For two weeks, the patients took 1 tbsp of coco sugar three times a day. Later tests revealed that the reading went down from 14 to 2. She also said the coco sugar will soon be used as substitute for Viagra becaus of the high glutamic acid content.

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In a recent talk with agri-practioners from the University of the Philippines, Los Banos (UPLB), I was told of their disappointment over the seemingly wholesale invasion of agricultural products in the local market from China. This was coupled with the government plan to open a million hectares of agri-land for Chinese businessmen, despite of the existence or availability of local agri-talents recognized and hired by foreign governments and organizations.

To a large extent, I share their concern. UPLB enjoyed high international recognition as an educational institution producing top caliber agri-people. But the inability of the Philippines to elevate its agricultural productivity equal if not better than nearby countries somehow puts a dent in its image. Somewhere, somehow, the agriculture scenario seems not equal to the recognition anymore.

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Sugar industry leaders in the country recently called for a review of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) as it criticized its “inherent flaws” which, they claimed, even defeats its noble purpose of liberating farmers from the bondage of tenancy.

The United Sugarcane Planters Federation (UNIFED), one of the largest coalitions of sugarcane farmers in the country said that a CARP review is needed at this point to be able to correct its defects and “make it attuned to the realites on the ground and aims of legitimate farmers.”

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Challenges and prospects for 2008 Commodity Highlights

Palay. Growth will continue to be moderate with the increased adoption of modern productivity technologies promoted through the GMA Rice Program as area harvested will basically stay the same. The higher budget for rice production will also be a plus factor for the sector’s growth. The PAGASA’s forecast indicates the start of a weak to strong La Nina which will likely last until early April of 2008. This can be good for production depending on its severity. A number of international agencies have indicated that there may be tight supply in 2008 with increased trade due to strong consumption. Rising demand and tight supply will keep world rice prices high.

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Consumer interest in healthy and organic foods has revived the interest in muscovado sugar.

Did you know that excessive consumption of refined sugar can lead one to suffer from increased cholesterol levels, gallstones, and weak eyesight? For years, refined sugar has been the primary sweetener for everyone. But, recent research has shed light on some health complications caused by excessive intake of refined sugar. Because of the general trend these days for more healthy options, people are rediscovering healthy and organic foods like brown rice, muscovado, etc. These products often contain little chemicals and undergo little processing. Of these products, muscovado has one of the greatest potentials in terms of export and may be the key to revive the country’s flagging sugar industry.

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