DOST Secretary affirms support to local bamboo industry
October 25, 2012
Thru the FPRDI, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has had a long history of helping the country’s bamboo industry, and is committed to continue giving its full support to meet the sector’s technical needs. This was the gist of DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo’s Keynote Speech at the National Bamboo Congress held last 2 October 2012 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Delivered by FPRDI Director Romulo T. Aggangan, the Secretary’s speech highlighted the various technologies and assistance services, which over the years, have been provided by FPRDI to the bamboo sector. The Institute’s recent bamboo technologies include the bamboo veneer lathe, flattening machine, non-wood forest products dryer, engineered bamboo products, and digital moisture meter.
Montejo said, “The Department has a furniture testing center based in FPRDI that examines the structural soundness of locally-produced furniture, and bamboo treatment facilities installed in many parts of the country. Since its creation in 1957, FPRDI has already conducted over 100 projects on bamboo R&D and in the last five years alone has conducted 43 training courses on bamboo for 768 participants. The courses include drying, preservation, glue lamination, engineered bamboo processing, furniture production, and charcoal production and briquetting.”
Right now, FPRDI is planning to prepare a standard for bamboo poles which can aid farmers in selling their products at a standard rate. It also intends to develop environment-friendly preservatives and non-chemical treatment methods for bamboo.
Montejo added, “Since the 1990s, the Institute has also conducted R&D and techno-transfer projects on engineered bamboo products. This includes the recently completed inter-agency program ‘Bamboo Industry Development Program: Mainstreaming Philippine Engineered Bamboo Products’, a milestone project headed by UP Los Banos. In partnership with the Bureau of Products Standards, FPRDI also helped draft a standard for engineered bamboo which is now being finalized.”
With the theme “Bamboo for People and Environment”, the congress was organized to highlight bamboo’s contribution to the country’s socio-economic development. The event aimed to “develop a common agenda for bamboo consistent with ASEAN priorities, as well as become a venue for bamboo stakeholders to evaluate and discuss latest trends related to the industry.”
The bamboo congress was organized by the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry. It was attended by around 1,300 participants. ### (Apple Jean C. Martin, 24 October 2012)
