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1. INTRODUCTION
Philippine seaweed aquaculture is currently dominated by the cultivation of red algal galactan seaweeds RAGS that serve as raw materials for the biopolymers
known as agar and carrageenan. This study considers three RAGS genera that comprise most crop production, namely the genera Eucheuma known
commercially as spinosum, Gracilaria and Kappaphycus known commercially as cottonii. Hurtado et al. 2001 stated that “Kappaphycus farming in the
Philippines is nearly synonymous with the seaweed industry of the country since 85−90 percent is dominated by farming, processing and marketing of this seaweed”.
Thus, the present study focuses primarily on cottonii farming that links to kappa- carrageenan value chains. Nevertheless, the author proposes that sustainability
for seaweed-based value chains requires development far beyond synonymy with Kappaphycus farming.
The long history of seaweed farming Kappaphycus in particular in the Philippines is a manifestation of the strength of this industry. The activity has generated
employment to, and uplifted the socio-economic status of, tens of thousands of coastal families in the country. The roles played by government and non-government
agencies, academia, business partners, and national and international institutions have been instrumental to the development of the industry. However, there is still a
need to link strongly the institutional research and development RD programmes to meet the problems and concerns of seaweed farmers, especially on production and
productivity. Similarly, a direct link to and transparent transactions in the market are much needed.
This chapter assesses the social and economic dimensions of seaweed aquaculture in the Philippines by focusing on the development of sustainable livelihoods in the
context of regional and global value chains. A comprehensive evaluation of the socio- economic dimensions of seaweed farming in the Philippines was carried out to assess
the sustainability of seaweed farming as a livelihood strategy. Data gathering and analysis were conducted for the four major production areas in the country: ARMM
Sitangkai, Region IV-B Palawan, Region IX Zamboanga City and Region VII Bohol.
2. CARRAGEENAN SEAWEED PRODUCTION AND VALUE CHAIN
2.1 Physical conditions
Geographic location and climate The Philippines is an archipelago comprising 7 107 islands with a total area of
300 000 km
2
and a coastline area of 36 289 km. The Philippines has a tropical wet climate with alternating rainy and dry seasons. The summer southwest monsoon
brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October, whereas the winter northeast monsoon brings cooler and drier air from December to February.
Monsoon rains, although hard and drenching, are not normally associated with high winds and waves. However, because the Philippines sits astride in the typhoon belt,
it suffers an annual onslaught of dangerous storms from July to October. These are especially hazardous for northern and eastern Luzon and the Bicol and Eastern
Visayas regions. The Philippines is prone to about 18–21 typhoons per year; however, western Mindanao – the Sulu archipelago in particular – is not known for typhoons.
Seasonality Seasonal variability between regions, within years and between years is commonly
cited as a causative factor for variability in seaweed production, but comprehensive scientific cause-and-effect studies remain to be undertaken. Varieties and farming
techniques may also vary according to seasons Table 1. The difficulty of drying during the southwest monsoon also explains the lower production volumes.
TABLE 1
Seasonality of Kappaphycus varieties and farming techniques adopted in Tawi-Tawi, ARMM
Season Farming technique
Variety
Southwest monsoon June−October
Spring and free-swing K. alvarezii var. tambalang
Northeast monsoon November−May
Fixed-off-bottom Spring and free-swing
K. striatum var. sacol K. alvarezii var. tambalang
Cultivation areas It is difficult to gather information on the total cultivation area and production of each
municipality or province as government agencies do not maintain substantial records for these purposes. Nevertheless, approximate estimates can be obtained from the four
key production areas in the country: ARMM, Region IV-B, Region IX, and Region VII Figure 1.
It is estimated that ARMM, consisting mostly of Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, has about 24 000 ha under production. Using current farming
techniques such as fixed off-bottom, hanging long-line and swing at 4−4.5 m depth, there are about 20 750 ha available for expansion in Tawi-Tawi. However, geographic
information system GIS studies have revealed that, if seaweed faming were expanded to a depth of 15 m in Sitangkai
1
, about 102 885 ha would be available for expansion. These estimates are indicative of the large potential for further industry growth in the
area.
1
Sitangkai in Tawi-Tawi was the single largest seaweed producing area in the Philippines in 2009, but Palawan is the now the largest single seaweed producing province as of 2011.
Source: Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines 2009.
FIGURE 1
Major seaweed farming areas in the Philippines
South China Sea
Philippine Sea
Sulu Sea
ARMM
Celebes Sea
N
Region IV-B Region IX
Region VII
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2.2 Production and trade