ONE MILLION SEEDLINGS FOR ILOILO

SIMPLY BUSINESS

by LARRY LOCARA

ONE MILLION SEEDLINGS FOR ILOILO

Hon. Governor Arthur Defensor has tasked the Provincial Agriculture Office to produce one million trees for the planting season of 2011. His plan is to plant these in all areas possible in the province. At a density of 1,000 trees per hectare, the one million trees would be able to reforest about 1,000 hectares, good enough to add about 0.23 percent forest cover in the province. However he is hoping that the initiative will also interest municipal governments and private individuals to follow suit. Coupled with the regreening program shall be an effective communications program focused on the business aspects of fruit and industrial tree farms which shall tie down all these initiatives and thus institutionalize tree farming as an industry and business in the province, a step towards sustainable regreening and environmental regeneration.

The one million trees would need a funding of about P5million to produce at a conservative estimate of P5.00 per seedling and if it were produced by the Provincial Agriculture Office in the various nursery sites of the province including the La Granja in La Paz. The mix of trees to be grown should also conform to the environmental and ecological conditions of the different areas of the province. There should also be a bias for local or indigenous trees. In the past, DENR and other enthusiasts had the propensity to introduce exotic species which not only became aggressive and dominated the landscape but also brought in diseases and insect pests that ravaged local species.

We had a short talk with the honorable Governor when he was wedding sponsor of a niece and we brought up the topic of giving the lowly ipil-ipil a second look. Presently people have taken for granted this tree. But in the 1970s, there was much interest in it where massive resources were spent for research and in finding fast growing species as well as specific species for various applications, from feed raw material to timber and firewood in dendro-thermal plants.

We mentioned that we have oberved along the highway a specific strain of ipil-ipil (scientific name: Leucaena leucocephala) that is not only fast growing but produces massive leaves. We said that such a strain should be propagated not only in reforestation areas but in farmlots as well because it will serve main purposes: fresh forage for goats, cattle and pigs, firewood and even timber for house and shed construction. Dried ipil-ipil leaves contain at least 22% crude protein.

Adding ipil-ipil in the reforestation program as an undercrop will also cement the mix of species in any given area. Being fast growing, it produces more biomass than other reforestation species and its high leaf nitrogen content makes it a ready source of organic nitrogen needed by other nitrogen hungry species usually preferred by the reforestation experts. Ipil-ipil regularly sheds its leaves to give way to new growth and the shed leaves become food for soil organisms and microorganisms.

Let us not also forget about indigenous fruits like jackfruit or langka (scientific name: Artocarpus philippensis Lam.). Langka is a not only eaten as a ripe fruit but also a favorite vegetable of Ilonggos where it is the main ingredient for stewed beef (linaga), salad and even the KBL- Kadios/Baboy/Langka which is now a main entree in formal Ilonggo food events. The ripe fruits sold by vendors along the main streets of Iloilo City come from as far Mindanao, which means that we do not produce enough langka for our consumption.

We should also take extra notice of local trees like the balayong, sangunyati, acacia laki, Palawan Cherry, kube and others. These are trees that produce beautiful lumber for paneling, furniture, special uses like rifle butt and pistol grips. No exotic species can equal their hardness and character. While they may be slow growing, they have established their niche in the local ecosystem and many other organisms and animals depend on them for survival and reproduction.

The one million trees program of Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr. can easily be achieved. His people can simply divide the target by the number of nurseries and municipalities throughout the province and specific instructions as to the specific species to grow should be given. But the most important aspect is the timely release of funds to immediately mobilize so that the seedlings are ready by the rainy season of 2011.