Basey farmfolks join jathropa propagators

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE (PIA Samar)
March 10, 2008

CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar  –  After a year of convincing farm folks, a local organization of farm folks in Basey, Samar is now drawing in new members who share the vision  of planting more tuba-tuba (jathropa) for livelihood.

As of December 31, 2007, some 212 Basaynon-farmers have engaged in tuba-tuba planting, according to the record of Teodorico Purbos, President of the Baktas Kabub’wason Rural workers Association.

Baktas Kabub’wason (Walk to the Future) is an organization of Basaynons believing in the economic benefits that tuba-tuba could bring.

In this effort, Basey now has some 71,424 shrubs planted in a 28,000-hectare distributed in 32 out of its 51 barangays.

Of these, it is Barangay Villa Aurora that tops both the number of tuba-tuba planted and hectarage, the report added.

It was no less than the Chairman of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) Alternative Fuels Corporation (AFC) who visited this historic town on March 8, 2008 on the occasion of the Baktas first general assembly.

In his speech, Chairman Renato S. Velasco assured the tuba-tuba planters that PNOC is willing to buy their tuba -tuba seeds.

Mayor Didi Estorninos of Basey has joined the bandwagon himself and planted some in his farmland.

The likes of Army Officer Jonathan Ponce, Department of Agrarian Reform Officer Chito dela Torre and then Sangguniang Bayan Member Anita Ogrimen hatched the idea of the tuba-tuba project in support to the program of PGMA’s Biofuels Act.

Tuba –tuba known as jathropa curcas has gained a wide following of planters in Mindanao, Luzon and in Palawan.