50 hectares set aside for fuel wood propagation in Compostela Valley

Richel V. Umel Inquirer Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines—In order to curb the wanton cutting of trees for charcoal in farming communities in Compostela Valley, some 50 hectares of public lands would be developed for the propagation of fuel wood, officials said.

The Departments of Agrarian Reform (DAR), of Agriculture (DA) and of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Davao recently forged a partnership to establish the project “Fuel Wood Production and Livelihood Project in Agrarian Reform Areas” in Pantukan town.

The project would involve the establishment of a nursery, in which some 80,000 seedlings of various fuel wood tree species would be raised under the auspices of the Araibo Agrarian Reform Multi-Purpose Cooperative, the DAR said.

The seedlings will be planted in a 50-hectare area, and the cooperative will be paid P3.60 per seedling, totalling around P300,000, according to a DAR news release.

“To ensure the trees’ survival, maintenance and protection activities such as weeding, cultivation and seedling replacement for the first two months shall be carried out by the members of the cooperative,” the DAR said.

As project partner, the DENR shall assist the provincial officers of the DAR and the DA in the identification of sites, survey and mapping, establishment of the nursery, and, if necessary, maintenance activities.

The DA on the other hand will provide additional seedlings of high-value crops to be given to the agrarian reform beneficiaries.