VZCZCXRO4456
OO RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHPB
DE RUEHML #1922/01 2541000
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111000Z SEP 09 (CCY ADAF35BB MSI7779-632)
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5145
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001922 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y/REMOVED COLLECTIVE ADDRESSEE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/EP, AND EEB/TPP 
STATE PASS USTR FOR BWEISEL, BKLEIN 
STATE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD EINV ECON KTER EISL EAID RP
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINE SEAWEED SECTOR PACES CHALLENGES 
 
MANILA 00001922  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  For four decades, U.S Government-backed seaweed 
farming programs have promoted peace, security and economic 
development in some of the Philippines' poorest and least stable 
provinces.  In conflict-affected Mindanao, the United States Agency 
for International Development (USAID) helped cement a 1996 peace 
agreement with Muslim rebels by training demobilized combatants in 
productive enterprises - including seaweed farming - and laying the 
foundation for a broader peacetime economy.  By nurturing all 
aspects of seaweed production, from farming fundamentals through 
processing technology to marketing enhancements, the U.S. has 
enabled the development of one of the world's largest seaweed 
industries, currently employing 40,000 families.  However, adverse 
climatic conditions and competition from other developing nations 
have resulted in a significant drop in production since its peak in 
the mid 1990s.  USAID is addressing these challenges by 
strengthening local biotechnology capacity, drawing up industry 
standards, and promoting high-value aquaculture that will improve 
farmers' productivity and profitability.  End Summary. 
Seaweed is Everywhere 
¶2.  (U) The consistent taste and texture that global consumers have 
come to expect in everything from Twinkies to toothpaste is made 
possible by additives such as carrageenan, a carbohydrate extracted 
from seaweed.  The Philippines is currently a world leader in the 
production of dried seaweed and carrageenan, with exports in excess 
of $100 million in 2008.  Some 420,000 tons of raw seaweed is 
processed annually by over 150 firms, including U.S. firms Cargill 
and FMC. 
It Can Be Profitable 
¶3.  (SBU) The USG first supported seaweed farming in the Philippines 
in the 1960's, promoting the "Eucheuma" variety that dominates 
commercial carrageenan production today.  It provided an income to 
artisanal and subsistence fishermen who were suffering from 
declining catches caused by overfishing, and destructive practices 
such as dynamite and cyanide fishing.  By the mid-1990s, the 
Philippines was processing 95 percent of the world's carrageenan, 
with farmers in Tawi Tawi and Sulu provinces the principal suppliers 
of raw material to the industry.   According to biologist and 
seaweed consultant Ronald Simbajon, a single hectare of seaweed can 
generate an annual income of up to 300,000 Philippine pesos (PhP) 
(over $6,000), far above the Philippine average family income of 
173,000 PhP ($3,500). 
Arms to Farms 
¶4. (SBU) After the peace accord between the Philippine government 
and the Moro National Islamic Front (MNLF) in 1996, USAID's 
Livelihood Enhancement and Peace Program (LEAP) took demobilized 
fighters out of the jungle and placed them into productive 
enterprises, including the seaweed business.  By providing them with 
seedlings and other materials, as well as training and follow-up, 
LEAP gave 8,000 former combatants a sustainable cash income and 
therefore, a stake in keeping the peace. Seaweed production now adds 
some $30 million per year to the economy of the Sulu Archipelago in 
Mindanao, where terrorist and criminal groups continue to commit 
acts of violence.  Although this program has helped to alleviate the 
region's deep poverty, the per capita regional domestic product of 
this region of Mindanao remains far below the national average. 
Challenges from La Nina and Neighbors 
¶5. (SBU) The Philippine seaweed industry has suffered from 
decreasing yields in recent years, largely due to rising sea 
temperatures caused by "La Nina".  Higher water temperatures reduce 
plant productivity, and also make the plants susceptible to 
"ice-ice," a disease that leads to deterioration of plant cell 
walls.  The near-tripling of world carrageenan prices in 2008 was 
due to the scarcity of tropical seaweed caused by these conditions. 
In addition to challenges presented by nature, the Philippine 
seaweed industry faces increasing competition from growers in 
Indonesia, and to a lesser extent, Kenya and Vietnam.  Philippine 
carrageenan processing firms now buy dried seaweed from Indonesian 
farmers, since labor and fuel costs are lower, and Philippine 
farmers are unable to consistently produce the volumes the 
processors needed.  Moving burlap sacks of dried seaweed from the 
Sulu Archipelago and other outlying areas hundreds of miles to 
Zamboanga City, Cebu City, and Manila -- the principal processing 
areas in the Philippines -- is a logistical nightmare that raises 
costs and degrades quality.  In addition, the Philippine industry 
has developed up to five layers of middlemen between the producers 
and processors, reducing grower profits and incentives.  Finally, 
seaweed prices have fluctuated greatly over the last year, ranging 
from 33 cents to 2 dollars per kilo for farmers, which can 
discourage producers who pre-sell their harvest at low prices or 
otherwise miss out on a rising market. 
¶6.  (SBU) To address the competitive and environmental challenges 
faced by seaweed farmers, USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao 
(GEM) and STRIVE projects are responding with a variety of 
approaches to improve quality, reduce shipping costs, and create 
 
MANILA 00001922  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
industry standards that will help Filipino growers remain 
competitive.  The construction of ten solar dryers in 
seaweed-producing villages will phase out beach and roof top drying, 
and make possible salt and sand-free seaweed of a consistent 
dryness, resulting in a higher-quality product that commands a 
premium price.  Training farmers in marketing will help them retain 
profits that have been siphoned off by the middlemen/traders that 
now dominate the industry.  Scientists are also working on methods 
to extract the sludge or sap from seaweed, which is an extremely 
rich organic fertilizer and currently lost during processing.  And 
finally, USAID is teaching seaweed farmers to move up the value 
chain by raising abalone and other high value seafood products to 
increase incomes and diversify their income streams. 
¶7. (U) Additional USAID initiatives may help reduce the impact of El 
Nino and other natural threats by harnessing biotechnology to 
provide better varieties of seaweed to farmers.  Support for gene 
banks, as well as a land and seabank nursery at Mindanao State 
University-Tawi Tawi may result in improved seedling strains that 
are better adapted to changing climactic conditions, and that yield 
more and higher quality carrageenan.  Also, research into causes and 
cures for "ice-ice" disease may not only provide a practical cure, 
but will build local biotechnology capacity that will enable future 
improvements of the genetic stock. 
Comment 
¶8. (SBU) For decades, USAID's seaweed and aquaculture projects have 
been a successful tool in combating rural poverty in the 
Philippines.  In recent years, they have even helped to create 
conditions to support the peace process between the Philippine 
government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a group of 
secessionist Muslim rebels in Mindanao.  These projects provide 
income in areas that do not have cash economies, and help provide 
jobs to people who may otherwise turn to crime to earn money to feed 
their families.  However, seaweed farmers, like most small 
agricultural producers in the Philippines, face challenges from the 
environment, and from competitors in an increasingly global market. 
USAID is applying many of the insights learned through its 
successful work in the tuna industry to help seaweed farmers remain 
competitive and diversify their income by establishing best 
practices, and raising quality standards, marketing, and 
profitability.  While seaweed will remain a viable industry in the 
Philippines for the foreseeable future, it is likely that seaweed 
farmers, including demobilized combatants, will continue to need 
outside support and new ideas to cement the economic and social 
gains achieved in the last decade. 
Kenney