DTI CL continues to promote bamboo industry
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga (PIA) — Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Central Luzon continues to promote the bamboo industry as one of its priority industry clusters.
DTI Regional Director Leonila Baluyut said that as the national coordinator of the Philippine Bamboo Industry Cluster Development Council, DTI Region 3 is tasked to put together efforts to promote and develop the industry to help micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) involved in the bamboo business.
These efforts are done in convergence and collaboration with various agencies including Department of Education, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Science and Technology, among others, to help increase employment and livelihood in the countryside.
“We implement the value chain approach. We take into account the whole production process from obtaining raw materials; as well as who are the stakeholders involved from the production, to manufacturing, delivery, and marketing,” the director said.
Baluyut added that DTI helps by training the stakeholders on how to properly plant and care for bamboo, including food sustainability because bamboo is not only used in furniture and furnishings, but in food as well.
“The labong that we eat is made from bamboo and we want it to be further developed. We are exploring how we can process it so that it is available all year round,” she said.
In terms of furniture making, DTI is keen on promoting not just the traditional way of using bamboo poles for furniture, but also the so-called engineered way to come up with leveled up, better, and premium products in the market.
As of December 2021, DTI reported that nationwide, the initiatives of the bamboo industry cluster enabled the creation of 7,432 jobs with a total of P88.40 million investments and P101.99 million sales, helping a total of 2,953 MSMEs.
These also benefitted 948 MSMEs and facilitated 233 trainings with 4,114 trained; while amount of loans facilitated totaled to P5.910 million.
In Central Luzon during the same period, total investment in bamboo industry amounted to P9.12 million, creating 28 new jobs, and generating a total of P7.54 million sales for 38 MSMEs.
Aside from bamboo, other priority industry clusters in the region include cacao, high-value coconut products, coffee, processed fruits and nuts, and wearables and homestyle. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)
