Understanding pojada and the challenges of harvesting abaca in Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines

In Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines, abaca plays a significant role in providing alternative income as an intercrop to tree crops like coconut. However, the sustainability of the abaca industry is greatly affected by instances when the abaca is left unharvested and situations where the pojada system overharvests. Results revealed that 92% of the respondents used decorticating machines during harvesting. Instead of harvesting three to four times a year, harvesting was done once or twice, comparable to the pojada system. The respondents perceived pojada as a system that had favorable and detrimental impacts on abaca. The leading problem of the respondents was the delay or absence of harvesting due to the lack of skilled harvesters, insufficient financial capital, distant markets/traders, limited buying of deco fiber, and lack of spindle stripping machines. These challenges suggested that the government provide support such as labor-efficient machines, skills training, trade capitalization, and incentives to harvesters for the sustainability of the abaca industry in the region.