Tree farmers in Mindanao have called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to put a procedure in place that will make harvesting and transporting timber products easier and more efficient.
The procedure has already been implemented elsewhere in the Philippines where it has eliminated red tape, stamped out the use of fake transport documents and reduced processing time for harvest and transport permits.
Tree farmers would like to see the policy adopted island wide, saying it would revive private sector interest in the industry and encourage investment in timber production and wood processing.
In another region tree farmers have increased their income by 28% per cubic metre of timber sold since implementation of the procedure.
