Located on the western area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf and South China Sea, Pangasinan is a province of the Philippines. Apparently, some 30,000 hectares of land in different municipalities of Pangasinan are set to be planted with bamboos soon. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing and highest yielding renewabl e natural resource making it a good substitute to wood in mitigating pressure on natural forests. Bamboo is a family of grass, it matures in as little as 3 to 5 years as, much faster than hardwood trees which can take 20 years or more to reach maturity. It sends out new shoots after each harvest. This Pangasinan project is part of the integrated bamboo farm and manufacturing industry initiative of a partnership project amongst a private entity called the CS First Green Agri-Industrial Corp., the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the agricultural venture. Indeed, an inspiring Public Private partnership program that can drive sustainable growth and create employment opportunities for the local people while ensuring a green tomorrow by promoting the use of bamboo products. The bamboo industry in the province has long existed; however, but the main problem was the supply requirement. The initiative is a 6-year project and is expected to address the supply side of bamboo in the province while ensuring income generation for the local people, developing bamboo entrepreneurship and driving inclusive growth at the bottom of the pyramid. Local farmers will be hired under contract-growing scheme for the planting and harvesting of the bamboos. The deal mandates the DENR to be responsible for the plantation. The DTI will provide the needed technology in processing the bamboo into flooring tiles and plywood while the CS First Green will provide funds for the project. The signing of memorandum of agreement by all parties has been done and now the next action underway is the acquisition of the required land base in Pangasinan for the bamboo plantation.
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