A study conducted by the College of Forestry and Natural Resources and Institute of Renewable and Natural Resources of the University of the Philippines Los Baños has found that the province of Compostela Valley have high potential areas for planting rubber.
Compostela Valley recorded 29.8 % of the area that has high potential for planting rubber, followed by North Cotabato with 20.8 %.
Zamboanga Sibugay, which currently has 66,484 hectares of plantation, has the largest area planted with rubber.
This is followed by North Cotabato with 59,387 hectares of land planted with rubber.
The study, “Geographic Information System (GIS)-based inventory and sustainability for rubber and cacao in major production areas of the Philippines,” is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
The project aimed to develop a national database on the locations of plantations and production and also identify possible expansion areas.
These areas were identified through important parameters for habitat suitability and niche modelling.
Specifically, the potential areas were identified by assessing the area’s rainfall, temperature, slope, elevation, land cover, and quality of soil.
The project also equipped members of the local and national government agencies with knowledge and know-how in sustaining plantations of rubber.