Manny Piñol
When I was Secretary of Agriculture, many foreign businessmen asked me how they could access Agarwood from the Philippines which they said they were willing to buy at P1-M per kilo.
Honestly, I did not know anything about Agarwood or its value until a Qatari father and son team came to my office when I was Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority over two years ago asking how they could buy Agarwood poached from the forests of the Eastern Seaboard of Mindanao.
That was when I learned that there were already pioneering groups championing the protection and propagation of Lapnisan, the local name for Aquilaria malaccensis, or Agarwood.
The active groups were mainly based in Luzon but faced strict regulatory policies of government which prohibits even the collection of seeds in the forest for propagation.
To learn more about Agarwood, here is a bit of information from wikipedia:
“Agarwood is a fragrant dark resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small carvings. It is formed in the heartwood of aquilaria trees when they become infected with a type of mold (Phialophora parasitica). Prior to infection, the heartwood is odourless, relatively light and pale coloured; however, as the infection progresses, the tree produces a dark aromatic resin, called aloes or agar as well as gaharu, jinko, oud, or oodh aguru), in response to the attack, which results in a very dense, dark, resin-embedded heartwood. The resin-embedded wood is valued in East and South Asian cultures for its distinctive fragrance, and thus is used for incense and perfumes.
“One of the main reasons for the relative rarity and high cost of agarwood is the depletion of the wild resource.[1] Since 1995, Aquilaria malaccensis, the primary source, has been listed in Appendix II (potentially threatened species) by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.[2] In 2004, all Aquilaria species were listed in Appendix II; however, a number of countries have outstanding reservations regarding that listing.
“First-grade agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world,[4] with 2010 prices for superior pure material as high as US$100,000/kg, although in practice adulteration of the wood and oil is common, allowing for prices as low as US$100/kg.[5] A whole range of qualities and products are on the market, varying in quality with geographical location, botanical species, the age of the specific tree, cultural deposition and the section of the tree where the piece of agarwood stems from.[6] As of 2013, the current global market for agarwood is estimated to be in the range of US$6 – 8 billion and is growing rapidly.[7]”
According to the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources, “Nine of the 21 known Aquilaria species are found in the Philippines, based on an international study titled, “The Origin and Domestication of Aquilaria, an Important Agarwood-Producing Genus.”
“Six species are endemic or found only in the Philippines, while the remaining three are native or indigenous.
“Among the native or indigenous species is the Aquilaria malaccensis, which can also be found in other countries, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.
“The Aquilaria malaccensis, locally known as “lapnisan,” is a major source of agarwood — a resinous heartwood used for perfume and incense.”
So, the tree which produces one of the most expensive perfumes in the world grows wild in our forests, especially in the Eastern Seaboard.
Rather than impose very strict regulatory policies on the propagation and exploitation of Lapnisan, our government must now look at this as an opportunity to boost our economy while at the same time promoting the planting of this species for a sustainable and profitable forestry program.
A well-funded research and development program for Aquilaria mallecensis should be started by government with the purpose of protecting, propagating and benefiting from a natural treasure which God had blessed our country with.
Organized groups of Agarwood growers must now be assisted by government and given funding support so that they could expand their propagation operations.
Ito ang napakagandang programa dahil nagtanim na ka ng kahoy, kikita pa ang Pilipino at Pilipinas ng bilyon at tiyak makakatulong sa pagpapalago ng ating ekonomiya. (Manny Pinol)