Philippines: Sugar farmers back bioethanol industry

Philippines: Sugar farmers back bioethanol industry

With farmers looking to maximize profits for their harvest of sugarcane
farming communities in Batangas came out in droves to attend the Farmers
Festival for Bioethanol held in Sta. Teresita this province.

The sugarcane industry, one of the biggest agricultural sectors in the
country, was given a new lease on life when the Biofuels Act of 2006, which
requires petrol companies to include a 10% bioethanol mix into their
products, was enacted into law.

Noberto Segunial Jr., a representative of the local sugar farming community
in Sta. Teresita, Batangas, was looking forward to how the Bioethanol
industry can help boost profits and productivity, especially to small-scale
farmers.

Small-scale farmers comprise more than half of the sugarcane industry.
According to Segunial, 57% of sugarcane farmers own less than five hectares
each. "Given that more than half of the farmers own small patches of land,
we need to adapt methods that increase production-per-hectare," he
explained. "And to be able to do that, we must look for alternative uses for
our yields. We must look to bioethanol plants as a new source of demand and
revenue," he continued.

To help with this need, Cavite Biofuel Producers, Inc. (CBPI) will be
building a state-of-the-art Bioethanol plant in neighboring Magallanes,
Cavite, to which the farmers can directly sell raw materials for bioethanol
production. Aside from additional profits from selling to CBPI, farmers will
also get support from the former's sister company, Bukid Verde, Inc. (BVI),
which is a corporate farming entity.

While BVI also produces sugarcane, it does so "cooperatively, not
competitively," according to Job Ambrosio, CEO of Bioeq Energy, the mother
company of CBPI and BVI. "Our production is only there to provide additional
supply for the Bioethanol plant, but we'll be sourcing most of our raw
materials from the surrounding farms in Cavite and Batangas," he explained.

BVI's resources will also be available for small-scale farmers to be able to
maximize their yields. The company has 45 tractors available for rent for
farmers who need it. They're also supporting the farmers through their
Research and Development, one of which resulted in a breed of disease-free
sugar seedlings. Samples of these seedlings were given to the farmers in
attendance at the event. BVI will also be teaching modern farming techniques
to improve productivity.

Segunial expressed gratitude to CBPI, BVI, and other investors in the
Bioethanol industry. "This new market gave more demand, and therefore more
incentive to go into the sugarcane business," he said. "The demand it
created, and the support given to us through technologies and equipment,
surely made for a more profitable sugarcane industry, especially to the
small farmers," he concluded.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Link to Original Article:
http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/01/30/sugar-farmers-back-bioethanol-industry/

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com