One inquisitor at the recent 2024 Bicol RSTIW and AbacaNobasyon asked DOST Secretary Renato Solidum and other officials what the department can do with regards to the price of abaca fiber.
PD Marie Grace Molina stated that the price of fiber is not the DOST’s concern alone but also other agencies, which is of course not entirely true, since government intervention is largely absent in the trading of abaca fiber.
Indeed, according to the DOST official, many factors influence the price of abaca fiber, with the demand of the world market the main driver but the most important thing she said is that the abaca industry should supply what the world market needs.
As admitted by Sec. Solidum, DOST will not be able to answer everything but it is trying to coordinate with the industry and the business people.
“What we want is for local businesses to be more active as far as science and business is concerned,” he stressed. “We need to look at our products and determine where value can be added.”
Solidum even asked local farmers and processors to use ChatGPT to answer their questions on what the global market needs.
Value-adding innovations must be combined with other technologies and products, especially in lowering the cost of production, the DOST chief pointed out.
“What we do at DOST must be adopted by the private industry,” he added.
Most importantly, he emphasized, is the question that needs to be asked: would the intervention of DOST and other agencies like CatSU create profit for stakeholders?
All proposals must have a market perspective right at the idea stage, Sec. Solidum said, with profit the ultimate product of the government assistance.
On the need to develop a research center in Bicol focusing on abaca, he stated that the proposal has to pass scrutiny and that it should ensure that after three years, it has to be sustainable which needs to be threshed out with the LGUs and the industry.
On the other hand, he observed, there must be a balanced ecosystem that supports the farmer, who usually has the least income in the industry compared to the processor and the seller.
He cited the portable abaca stripping machine developed by DOST-MIRC as one process intervention that needs to be aggressively promoted among the farmers in producing high-quality fiber needed by the Philippine textile industry.
Solidum noted that local Filipino investors are not risk-takers.
Instead, he advised that the province take advantage of the Filipino diaspora who are now rich, who must be convinced to invest in Catanduanes.
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A SCIENCE QUESTION. The 6th-grade science teacher, Mrs. Parks, asked her class, “Which human body part increases to ten times its size when stimulated?”
No one answered until little Mary stood up and said, “You should not be asking sixth-graders a question like that! I’m going to tell my parents, and they will go and tell the principal, who will then fire you!”
Mrs. Parks ignored her and asked the question again, “Which body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?”
Little Mary’s mouth fell open. Then she said to those around her, “Boy, is she going to get in big trouble!”
The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class, “Anybody?”
Finally, Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said, “The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye.”
Mrs. Parks said, “Very good, Billy,” then turned to Mary and
continued.
“As for you, young lady, I have three things to say: One, you have a dirty mind. Two, you didn’t read your homework. And three, one day you are going to be very, very disappointed.”