What future for Tawi-Tawi's seaweed farmers?

It’s September in Bongao, the capital of the Tawi-Tawi island group in the southern Philippines, and the week-long Kamahardikaan fiesta that celebrates the province’s anniversary is in full swing.

It is the day of the Agal-Agal festival, and each island has sent a troupe of dancers to symbolically enact the planting and harvesting of eucheumatoids to the rhythm of a mobile drum orchestra. The women of Simunul have tie-tie ribbons hanging from their shoulders, while caps from the plastic bottles used to float the seaweed lines dangle from the South Ubian dancers’ hats. Witnessing the colourful scene proceeding through the streets of Bongao, it’s hard to think of a place where seaweeds are more central to the culture and the economy.

Tawi-Tawi’s place in seaweed history

In 1969, the first commercially successful eucheumatoid farm in the world was established in Tawi-Tawi by Professor Max Doty of the University of Hawaii and the American company Marine Colloids. The project was a response to increasing demand for seaweeds from the carrageenan industry, which until then had relied on wild harvested stocks of Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) from the North Atlantic. The pilot farm’s success signalled the start of several decades of rapid expansion for carrageenan. Production in Tawi-Tawi grew accordingly. While cultivation in Indonesia would eventually surpass the Philippines, Tawi-Tawi province remained the country's top seaweed producer, and seaweed farming continued to be the primary source of income for its residents.

On the outer island of Sibutu, Hadji Kuyoh Pajiji was an early adopter. He recalls: “When I started in 1971, the seaweeds grew very big. We put out 1,000 lines, more than 1,000 even, left them in the water for 6 weeks before harvesting. It was almost hands-off farming. We earned good money. Seaweeds sent my kids to high school and to university.”

Fertilisers make their entry

But the seaweeds don’t grow as they used to. As a result, according to research by Dr Richard Muallil at Mindanao State University, more than 90 percent of seaweed farmers in Tawi-Tawi now apply inorganic fertilisers to their crops. The boost in growth allows farmers to harvest as soon as three weeks after planting, which helps them to beat the dreaded ice-ice disease. Fertilisers are now seen as a necessity in Tawi-Tawi. To most farmers, the seaweeds “no longer grow” without fertiliser.

Use of fertilisers has had two major consequences, according to Dr Muallil. First off, it has made seaweed farming a lot more laborious. While in the 1970s Hadji Kuyoh could leave his lines unattended for six weeks, apart from the occasional check-up, farmers today harvest all their lines every seven to 10 days to “recharge” them with fertiliser. The upshot is that productivity has decreased considerably. While 1,000 lines was common before, few manage more than 400 these days; the majority plant less than 200 in a cycle.

The second change has been in the farm environment. While the fertilisers have boosted the growth of cultivated seaweeds, they have also encouraged other algae to proliferate. Masses of Ulva blooms have taken over the nearshore environment where fertilisers are in use

Boom-bust carrageenan crisis

The price of cottonii seaweeds (Kappaphycus alvarezii) reached an unprecedented high in the fall of 2022, according to some because of a Covid bullwhip effect, according to others because the failed kelp harvest in China led to an alginate shortage that saw firms scrambling to replace the missing alginate with carrageenan in their products.

Whatever the reason, farmers were happy to receive upward of 160 pesos (USD$2.85) per dried kilogram. Unfortunately, the price descended from there on out to an all-time low of just 30 pesos (USD$0.5) in the spring of this year, in part because buyers reformulated their products without carrageenan and China experienced a prolonged economic slowdown.

While the size of these price swings was unprecedented, the overall pattern was familiar. Prices are known to fluctuate due to the carrageenan market's dynamics: high prices attract more farmers, while low prices drive islanders to fishing or terrestrial farming.

However, these traditional alternatives have become less reliable. Overfishing and dynamite fishing have reduced fish stocks, while farming is only an option where arable land exists. At an informal gathering of farmers in Sibutu, working in construction or palm oil plantations in nearby Malaysia was the preferred additional livelihood.

Carrageenan, the thickener that sent two generations of Sibutu’s children to school, is in a slump. Although prices have started trending upwards again this summer, there is plenty of reason to stay worried. For more than four decades, innovation in product and market development was minimal as firms focused on outperforming rivals and increasing profits through mergers and acquisitions. The carrageenan market finally plateaued around 2007. Although new applications for eucheumatoids in biostimulants and biomaterials have since emerged, they are still nascent, contributing relatively little to overall demand.

Working towards solutions

At a recent industry forum in Bongao, the consensus was clear: farmers should be weaned off fertilisers and be presented with additional livelihood options that could decrease pressure on marine life.

A consortium of NGOs and national and international agencies is stepping in to provide training and materials to reduce fertilisers, increase local value addition and diversify income streams. Entrepreneurs are also looking at solutions. Based in Davao, Gray Goodwin from Marine Algae Development, says: “We have developed a seaweed nutraceutical and a biostimulant product, as well as mobile processing units. We are ready to expand those markets. Tawi-Tawi is already the seaweed producing capital of the Philippines. We now want to make it into the seaweed processing capital as well.”

Jasmin Abubakar of IA International Trading, in Zamboanga, sees opportunity in species diversification. As she explains:”Given the province’s abundant resources, we want Tawi-Tawi to become the primary source of top quality Ulva, adding to the region’s economic growth, and providing livelihoods to the farmers and their families.”

Seaweed’s peace dividend

Part of a Christian-majority country ruled from the distant northern capital of Manila, the Philippines’ predominantly Muslim southern provinces have fought for self-determination for centuries; first against Spanish and American colonials, later against the Philippines’ ruling families - as well as among themselves for a share of power.

Improved economic conditions can decrease the appeal of conflict among young men, and seaweed farming has undoubtedly contributed to this in recent decades. However, for Tawi-Tawi to continue reaping seaweed farming’s peace dividend, a transformation is necessary. New markets, new cultivars and a greater variety of species, alongside opportunities for farmers to claim a larger share of the value chain can all contribute to the industry’s renewal. In short, nothing less than a comprehensive overhaul of the tropical seaweed industry is called for to ensure Tawi-Tawi’s Agal-Agal festival remains the joyous affair it is today, for decades to come.