Mindanao areas dominate rubber, cacao production

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – With about 66,500 hectares of its cultivable lands planted with rubber, Zamboanga Sibugay now has the country’s largest area devoted to this commercial crop.

North Cotabato ranks second with almost 59,400 of its area covered by rubber plantations. Making the top five of the country’s “rubber corridor” are Agusan del Sur (15,700 ha) , Bukidnon (10,300 ha), and Compostela Valley (8,100 ha).

In cacao production, Davao Oriental now has the highest area planted with this agricultural crop - almost 7,000 ha. It is followed by Compostela Valley with about 5,900 ha and Davao City with 3,300 ha.

In Basilan, 11 percent of its area has high potential for planting cacao, followed by Davao Oriental (10 percent).

These were the results of the study funded by the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development.

The study was intended to develop a national database on the location of plantations and identify possible expansion areas.

The sites covered by the research were Agusan del Sur, Basilan, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Palawan, and Zamboanga Sibugay.

Compostela Valley and Basilan were observed to have high potential for planting rubber and cacao, respectively.

“The project equipped members of the local and national government agencies with knowledge and know-how in sustaining plantations of rubber and cacao,” PCAARRD said.