LUCENA CITY—The provincial government of Quezon jump-started biofuel production in the country when Quezon Gov. Raffy Nantes signed on Wednesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA)  with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) for the massive production and processing of jatropha in the entire province.

The MOA, signed by LBP president Gilda Pico, PNOC-AFC president Peter Anthony Abaya and Nantes, provides that the LBP will allocate a total of P4.3 billion for about 100,000 hectares of marginal lands to be identified by the provincial government for the planting of jatropha, also called here as tuba-tuba or tubang-bakod.

Nantes expressed his gratitude to President Arroyo for the agreement, which he said would provide credit assistance to farmers through the LBP and would generate jobs and energize the agricultural sector in the province.

“This jatropha project is a big help to the farmers in Quezon, and this MOA that I signed together with LandBank and PNOC-AFC is a signal for our massive planting in idle lands in the entire province,” said Nantes in a brief interview with the media after the brief signing ceremonies.

Nantes considered the jatropha program as vital to the realization of his vision of “Pilipinas, Quezon Naman,” which encapsulates his flagship development program in agriculture, tourism and economic enterprise.

Abaya described the MOA signing as “historic” and a positive push for the country’s energy independence as he expressed thanks to Nantes and Pico for sharing in the common vision of clean air and lower fuel cost for the country.

Nantes said a farmer-grower can avail of P43,000 a hectare for the planting of jatropha without paying the principal loan and interest for three years from LandBank.

Only qualified growers such as cooperatives, small and medium enterprises and farmers’ organizations can avail themselves of the credit assistance, which shall be paid starting in the fourth year with only a minimal interest.

The provincial governor has created the Quezon Jatropha Development Board (QJDB) which would accredit seedling suppliers and identify growers for endorsement to LandBank.

The board, chaired by Nantes, is composed of Oscar Bunyi as vice chairman; Francis Sevilla Jr. as executive director; and Abner Malabanan, June Lee, Aristeo Flores and lawyer Dennis Guerrero as members.

The QJDB is undertaking continuous trainings and orientation on jatropha all over the province. A two-hectare jatropha nursery plantation has been established in barangay Malupak, Lucban, which can produce about 300,000 jatropha pottings.

Nantes is unfazed about the negative reports on jatropha and gave assurances the jatropha program would not affect the food-security situation of the province as it would not encroach on rice fields.

Flores, Quezon provincial administrator, also signed the MOA as witness, along with Renato Velasco, chairman of PNOC-AFC; and Wilfredo Maldia, LBP executive vice president.

APPROVED investments of foreign investors in the first quarter was not enough to pull up the amount of total approved investments in the said period, which declined by 6.3 percent, according to a report released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) on Thursday.

THE Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) is set to bid out the contract for the construction of the P10-billion Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) Terminal 2 in the third quarter of the year, with at least three foreign groups already making known their interest to build it.

THE Philippine government is eyeing to maintain the existing P25 per kilogram price for subsidized rice distributed by the National Food Authority (NFA) in public markets, an official of the NFA said.

THE country’s palay production during the lean months of July, August and September is expected to reach 3.45 million metric tons (MMT), or 9.5 percent higher than paddy production for the third quarter of 2007, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—Eleven years since its inception, benefits from the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (Afma) have yet to be felt by farmers and fishermen.

CABANATUAN CITY—Small and medium entrepreneurs and government officials here gave a thumbs-up sign Tuesday for the innovative food-processing product of a Nueva Ecija noodle maker.

LUCENA CITY—The provincial government of Quezon jump-started biofuel production in the country when Quezon Gov. Raffy Nantes signed on Wednesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA)  with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. (PNOC-AFC) for the massive production and processing of jatropha in the entire province.