Seaweed Farmers Search For Greener Pasture (Second of 3 parts)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Uly Israel / 06 Nov) - While it is true that seaweed farming offers tremendous potentials for marginal income earners in the Philippines to stave off poverty, the emergence of globalization, the gnawing structural defects and the concomitant exploitation of farmers by those who have the means to manipulate prices – all add up to sustaining if not worsening poverty in the coastal areas, a seaweed specialist claimed.

The seaweed industry’s contribution to the country’s foreign exchange earnings has been significant thus seaweed is hailed as one of the most successful marine products in recent years, said Virgilio L. Leyretana, chief of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco).

According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) records, the Philippines is the leading supplier of Eucheuma seaweeds, accounting for about 80 percent of the total world supply.

“But while exporters, traders and processors are making it big in the world market, the industry remain just a mere provider of less than minimum basic needs for its farmers,” Dr. Sitti Amin M. Jain said in her book

“The Seaweeds Industry”.“The huge demand fueled by the increasing requirements of multinationals and countries that are now plucking every raw dried seaweed that the Philippines can produce may have a good impact on farmers if structural defects within the local seaweed industry are corrected,” Dr. Jain said.

Otherwise, Jain asserts, “benefits from the huge exports of seaweeds will only accrue to traders and some unscrupulous middlemen and buyers who supply giant multinationals, Third World countries will continue to be mere sources of cheap labor and raw materials sustaining if not worsening poverty, just as the farmers will continue to be in the system periphery toiling hard for rich traders and processors in exchange for mere survival.”

“Much has been reported of the success of the industry but there is no known study on the economic status of poor farmers who have toiled for generations to provide for traders, exporters and processors and swell the coffers of the national economy with foreign earnings… the problem and survival prospects of seaweeds farmers were never highlighted or paid attention to by the major players of the industry or by the government,” she lamented.

Is her book a condemnation of the whole laissez faire system? Not really, she hopes that the result of her rigorous research would provide reliable basis for industry players and development planners to address the economic condition of seaweed farmers and their families whose survival largely depend on the industry.

Her study was conducted in Zamboanga Peninsula Region which is the second largest supplier of seaweeds in the country next to Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The entire Mindanao area produced in 2002 a total of 524,611 metric tons (MT) almost 60 percent of the total Philippine production of 894,859 MT.While Visayas and Luzon accounted for 40 percent with a production of 370,245 MT based on the data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics of the Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Jain said the story of the seaweed industry is an interesting one. It started in 1972 when seaweeds and the derivative carrageenan burst into the economic stage with a bang and a lot of promise.

Driving them into center stage was the versatility of the product that was a staple of the food and pharmaceutical industries as well as huge and diverse demand for it overseas swell.

She said: “Along shorelines, seaweed farms sprouted up and a new breed of farmers and traders was born. Large modern warehouses and processing facilities swallowed up the dried seaweeds that filled up to the brim the container vans from the south.“

New fortunes were made but the big slice of the industrial pie went to the processors and exporters. The farmers of the south, the suppliers of raw materials, ironically got the crumb and the leavings. The picture has not changed since then.

“The story of the industry may write a new chapter when the big players discover, hopefully not belatedly that the seaweed rainbow in the sky will continue to glow only when those at its base get to share more of the rewards.”

Dr. Jain observed that the seaweed industry faces serious problems and challenges ranging from declining production to deteriorating quality of seaweed produced by the farmers.

A study made by the University of Asia and Pacific (UAP), revealed that the industry is facing high incidence of low farm productivity, poor qualityof seaweeds due to early harvesting.

The farmers also used salt and stones to increase product weight and other malpractices. The study also emphasized the lack of industry-wide quality standards for raw seaweeds inadequate technical services and training on planting, harvesting and drying and lack of farm or village levels of post-harvest and drying facilities.

Dr. Jain countered that these problems related to the capacity and capability of the farmers to appropriately manage highly productive farms and quality produce might have stemmed from farmers’ poverty, vulnerability, powerlessness, isolation, and even physical weakness which resulted in the inability to cultivate bigger farm areas, the promotion of premature harvests, improper farming techniques, consequently, affecting farm productivity.

Unless problems affecting farmers are identified and addressed, the growth of the entire seaweed industry will be stunted, she said.

Dr. Jain’s research focused on three major issues: income of seaweed farmers, presence of exploitation of farmers and the clusters of disadvantages.

It is also confined to seaweed farmers in Zamboanga Peninsula Region.Did income generated by the seaweed farmers serves as alternative to poverty in terms of providing them and their family access to basic needs, basic services, and access to education and social participation?

Results of her research showed:

·63 percent of the seaweed farmers are with income below the poverty threshold.
·4.5 percent of the seaweed farmers experienced hunger.·Per capita income of less than P10,000 for a family of five (annual income).
·34.2 percent have access to community water system.·24.5 percent have access to water-sealed depositories.
·56.6 percent have access to electricity.
·81.6 percent owned houses made of light materials and 9.8 percent owned houses made of concrete materials.

Her study further revealed that seaweed farmers had inadequate knowledge of the market and they were still moderately dependent on buyers; access to financing facilities was lacking; industry information was not accessible to them; and, there were some unscrupulous buyers in the industry.

The study also clearly demonstrated that indeed there existed an exploitation of farmers.

She identified the problems and weaknesses of the farmers, of seaweed farming and of the industry as a whole.The farmers’ inadequacy of income, she said, is affecting their productivity.

As a result, the farmers lack access to proper sanitation facilities, to medical and health care, to education, to communication facilities and to market/industry information.

Seaweed farming is vulnerable to typhoons and bad weather, to diseases, to pollution from nearby factories - concerns that must be given adequate response, she said.

She also lamented the lack of financing facilities specific for the industry. Product standards for dried seaweeds not followed by the industry and local policy regulating the quality of seaweeds is lacking.

To further aggravate the problem, exploitation of farmers is prevalent, she said. The lack of government assistance in providing market information, road infrastructures and post harvest facilities also contributed to the deteriorating situation of seaweed farming.

On the part of the seaweed farmers, she said, the farmers must learn to follow quality standards; build up their organizational capabilities to address concerns on financing, marketing, production costs and techniques.

Dr. Jain’s recommendations are as follows:1. Improve farmers’ income for them to better meet basic needs and gain better access to basic services, education, social participation, financing facilities and other productive resources to help them increase production and expand farm areas.

They should be provided with technical assistance to help them improve farm management, quality assurance, identification of suitable farm areas, and adoption of appropriate farming techniques.2. Local and national government must bring public services closer to the farmers in rural and coastal areas.

There is a need to improve health services, improve access to education, build road networks and enhance the provision of utilities such as potable water and electricity.

3. To help free farmers from exploitation, there is a need to increase their level of empowerment, improve social and community involvement, and foster a sense of belonging.

The government should strengthen its organizational development program for seaweed farmers to facilitate access to government assistance as well as that of NGOs and private organizations. Likewise, introduce new opportunities for additional sources of livelihood. (Mindanao Examiner/to be continued)

Western Mindanao Seaweed Industry Development Foundation, Inc.

Top photo, Hadji Adam S. Omar (Chairman, WMSIDFI) shakes hands with Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat during the recent 7th Mindanao Seaweed Congress in Zamboanga City. And Omar hands out certificates and placques to Mr. Benson Dakay (Chief Executive Officer, Shemberg Marketing Corp. CEBU); Farley Baricuatro; Amanshah Ambodalli, of the Dept. Of Fisheries of Malaysia; Ibni Hassim Ab. Rajun, also of Malaysia.

Western Mindanao Seaweed Industry Development Foundation, Inc.

4/F VH Wee Building, Veterans Avenue, Zamboanga City 7000

Telefax: (062) 9911049

Email: seaweed@zambonet.ph

Chairman: Hadji Adam S. Omar

Executive Director: Jacqueline M. Carrasco

Technical Assistant: Anthony V. de Jesus

In July 2000, a call was made for stakeholders to get their acts together in addressing the issues of the seaweed industry to maintain its position as a world market leader in this industry.

Moves have been initiated to formally organize an industry body that will integrate efforts of producers, buyers, processors, exporters and development partners in promoting the growth of the seaweed industry.

The result was the establishment of the Western Mindanao Seaweed Industry Development Foundation, Inc. with a total membership strength of 97 members composed of 80 seaweed farmer associations, 15 traders and exporters association, and 2 processors.

They are from the Provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga City. The Foundation was duly registered with SEC on February 27, 2001 with SEC Registration No. G2001-000037.

Vision: By the Year 2005, Western Mindanao (Zamboanga de Sur, del Norte, and Sibugay, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the Cities of Pagadian and Zamboanga and Isabela) shall still be the leader in the Philippine Seaweed Industry propelled by by empowered and quality conscious stakeholders in an atmosphere of unity and prosperity.

Mission:

To sustain a production growth rate of at least 5% per annum

in Western Mindanao;
To unify all stakeholders of the Western Mindanao Seaweed Industry

under one umbrella organization;
To establish acceptable industry product standards primarily on

quality and price structure;
To provide stakeholders access to reliable information;
To serve as the lead policy advocate for the industry in Western Mindanao;
To improve networking between stakeholders and partner institutions; and
To develop a menu of business support services to further develop the industry.

Services:

Market Matching
Event Organizing (Conference and Trade Fair)
Information Center
Facilitation of Techno-Transfer Training
Policy Advocacy
Business and Trade Opportunities

The information in this directory was provided by partners of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.

Seaweed Farmers Search For Greener Pastures (First of Three Parts)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Uly Israel / 01 Nov) - People from the coastal villages tend to flock in the highly urbanized Metro Manila or would sell or mortgage their land to find work abroad in search for their dreams of a decent and comfortable life.

And little did they know that such dreams are within reach even without moving out because there are always opportunities, said Engineer Isidro D. Eijansantos, Jr., a strategic planner from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-Zamboanga City).

But he said opportunities, however, must be exploited to the fullest,

Philippine archipelago with its long shoreline situated near the equator is blessed with a high level of biodiversity of marine life. There is a great treasure that can be unlocked in the country’s marine resources and one of the relatively unexploited treasure chests is seaweed farming – a potential source of wealth that can be replenished with the use of available technology, Eijansantos said.

“With the rich marine resources at our disposal, opportunities abound for everyone to partake in the exploitation of these resources,” he said.

One such opportunity came into being when Dr. Maxwell Doty, a professor of the Department of Botany at the University of Hawaii conducted a research on the natural stock of seaweeds, specifically the Eucheuma variety in the Philippines in 1965, Dr. Sitti Amina M. Jain said in her recently published book, “The Seaweed Industry: Exploring an Alternative to Poverty”.

Seaweeds usually grow in abundance wildly in the southern provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; these were harvested by fishermen in the areas and sold to traders. As demand grew, stock of fresh and dried seaweeds dwindled in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1968, researches on seaweed production and propagation were conducted by a team of researchers from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), University of Hawaii and Marine Colloids International, Inc. which led to the introduction of the successful seaweed culture technique in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

In 1972, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Zamboanga fishermen started the first Euceuma commercial farms in the country. Then in 1978, seaweed farming expanded to other areas reaching as far as Bohol, Cebu, and the Leyte-Samar area.

Since then, the seaweed industry has been the lifeblood of an estimated 180,000 farmers directly dependent on seaweed culture nationwide. In the Zamboanga Peninsula alone, latest estimates indicate that seaweeds farming alone benefits 24,712 farmers, providing a source of livelihood for over 130,000 people.

The contribution of the industry to peace and development initiatives particularly in the conflict areas in the region including Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu has been significant, said Dr. Jain, who is also the Assistant Regional Director of DTI-9.

The USAID-Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM) reported that in year 2003 the agency was able to provide livelihood to about 24,000 former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) combatants who venture into seaweed farming.

Dr. Jain said most of the former Muslim secessionists turned to seaweed culture as a means of subsistence, since the vast shorelines of Zamboanga Peninsula offered them the opportunity to engage in seaweed farming and since farming technology was readily available and could be easily learned and adopted.

The seaweeds industry has evolved into a multi-million dollar export business. The industry has spawned an increasing number of traders and exporters. The huge demand for seaweeds –raw dried seaweeds (RDS), semi-processed and refined – in the world market opened up huge potential income for seaweed growers.

In 2001, the Philippines exported 118,460 metric tons (MT) of RDS valued at US $ 131.6 million. The country’s export rose to US $153,2 million of 128,618 (MT) of RDS in 2005.

Indeed, DTI-Zamboanga City and Tawi-Tawi have made seaweeds as top priority product for development and promotion under the One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) program of the Arroyo Administration. Under the OTOP program, players in the production, marketing and distribution of the chosen product get assistance from financing, technical to fiscal incentives from various line agencies of the government.

"Zamboanga City is without doubt an ideal place for seaweed farming for the coastal dwellers," DTI-Zamboanga City said in its primer, a concept paper which focuses on seaweed industry in the city.

"These marine resources gave us unlimited potential, and if used wisely and effectively, will translate to a better quality of living for our people. Seaweed could bring any individual to life full of luxury and comfort due to its lucrative earnings, either fresh or dried,” DTI added.

USES OF SEAWEED

Seaweed is a microscopic algae classified into four classes according to pigment coloring. Most of the red colored seaweeds contain carrageenan which has numerous uses. Carrageenan is a jelly-like substance extracted with alkaline water from red seaweeds. It is used mainly in products that need gelling, suspending, thickening or water holding properties.

In the food industry, carrageenan is used as stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, and filler and gelling agent for dairy-based products such as cheese, ice cream yogurt, butter, sausages, part thickener.

For the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as cosmetics, capsules, vitamins, bacteria, culturing media, shampoo, lotion cream, lipstick, soap and many more. For the general industry, it is an additive for paper, textile, photo film, toothpaste, shoe polish, fish/meat canner, ceramics, and pesticide and food paste.

Because of its many uses for industrial, pharmaceutical, and food industries, its demand in the world market continues to grow by 5 percent annually, DTI said.

As of 2003, the world demand stood at 5 million metric ton, while the supply gap stood at 2 million metric ton or 40 percent, a huge supply gap to fill, DTI added. (Mindanao Examiner/to be continued)