THE crop that smells like wealth—literally.
The Tree That’s Changing Lives—One Scent at a Time
What if your farm could yield a product more valuable than gold, without planting a single grain of rice or sugarcane?
In my previous article “Planting Prosperity,” I shared how premium agarwood chips command ₱250,000 and up per kilogram, while high-quality oil fetches over $30,000 per kilogram. These weren’t just numbers pulled from thin air—they represent a real opportunity that’s already transforming lives across the Philippines.
Now let’s walk you through how to turn that dream into real income—step by step.
Why Agarwood is Bohol’s Next Agricultural Star
Governor Aris Aumentado reportedly champions agriculture-led inclusive growth during his second tenure. Agarwood farming aligns perfectly with this vision, offering Boholano farmers a pathway from subsistence to prosperity.
You’ve worked hard for so little—this tree is your chance to change the story.
While traditional crops keep farmers trapped in cycles of modest returns, agarwood represents the high-value crop transformation that can rewrite rural economics. It’s sustainable, profitable, and perfectly suited to our climate. More importantly, it’s an industry where being early still matters—and Boholano farmers are already organizing to seize this opportunity.
Step-by-Step Wealth: The Agarwood Farming Roadmap for Boholanos
Seedling Selection: Your First Golden Decision
Success begins with the foundation—and that foundation is your seedling choice. Use DENR-accredited nurseries only. This isn’t bureaucratic red tape; it’s your insurance policy against wasted years and failed investments. Wild saplings are illegal, produce low yields, and have zero export value.
Farmer’s Checklist: What to Ask Your Nursery
- Can you show me your DENR accreditation certificate?
- What Aquilaria species are these seedlings?
- How old are the seedlings?
- Do you provide planting guidance?
- Can you connect me with other successful planters?
The three main species available are Aquilaria malaccensis (most common), Aquilaria cumingiana (native to Philippines), and Aquilaria crassna. Each has its merits, but what matters most is getting healthy, properly documented seedlings.
Land Preparation & Spacing
Once you’ve secured quality seedlings, proper land preparation becomes your next critical step. Optimum spacing is 3 meters by 3 meters, yielding 1,111 trees per hectare. This spacing isn’t arbitrary—it’s the sweet spot between maximizing trees per hectare and ensuring each tree has room to develop the robust heartwood that produces premium agarwood. Plant during the wet season or ensure you have irrigation setup. The trees need adequate space to develop properly—crowded trees produce inferior agarwood.
Choose well-draining soil with partial shade. Full sun can stress young seedlings, while waterlogged areas kill them.
The Secret Sauce: Inoculation Techniques
After 2.5 to 3 years of careful cultivation, you reach the most crucial phase—inoculation. This is where science meets art, where ordinary wood begins its transformation into extraordinary wealth.
This is where ordinary turns to extraordinary.
The fungal inoculation process triggers the tree’s natural defense mechanism, causing it to produce the dark, aromatic resin that makes agarwood so coveted worldwide. Without proper inoculation, you have regular wood. With it, you have liquid gold maturing in your backyard.
Currently, there’s a significant training gap in proper inoculation techniques across Bohol. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity—those who master these techniques early will have a significant competitive advantage.
Intercropping: Cash Flow While You Wait
Smart farmers know that patience pays, but bills don’t wait for harvest season. While your agarwood trees mature, intercropping provides the financial bridge between planting and prosperity.
While your agarwood trees mature, intercrop with short-cycle, high-value crops. Ginger, lemongrass, and gabi work well between the rows. These crops can generate ₱30,000 to ₱50,000 per hectare annually, providing steady income while your main investment grows.
Harvest and Extraction: Where Scent Becomes Gold
The culmination of years of patient cultivation arrives around year 5 to 7. This is when your agricultural investment transforms into a wealth-generating asset that can change your family’s financial trajectory for generations. Mature trees are carefully harvested, and the agarwood chips are extracted from the resin-rich heartwood. You can sell chips directly or process them into oil through distillation.
For individual farmers, selling chips to established buyers often makes more sense initially. As the industry grows and organizes—particularly through groups like the Bohol Agarwood Planters Association (BAPA)—communal processing facilities will offer farmers more control over the value chain and higher profit margins.
Farmers Who Planted Hope: Local Stories of Promising Starts
Dr. Ephraim Cercado: Breaking New Ground for Filipino Agarwood
Dr. Ephraim Cercado, a former surgeon turned agroforestry advocate, has become a trailblazer in the Philippine agarwood industry. As the founder of Dendrotonics Corp., he led the country’s first legal export of agarwood chips in October 2024, shipping to the United Arab Emirates.
This achievement opened doors for local farmers, proving that agarwood farming can be viable and highly profitable on a global scale. Through partnerships with over 140 planting sites nationwide, Dendrotonics provides farmer training, inoculation techniques, and legal compliance support. Their pooled harvests have fetched prices between ₱24,000 and ₱100,000 per kilo, depending on quality.
“Agarwood farming is more than just planting a tree—it’s understanding the whole journey, from seed to export,” Dr. Cercado explains. “We help farmers realize that dream, and now, for the first time, ordinary Filipinos are profiting from a crop that’s recognized globally.”
Ramon Cruz: Patient Progress in Davao
Not all journeys reach export stage quickly, but they still change lives. Ramon Cruz, a smallholder farmer in Davao, first planted Aquilaria seedlings in 2018 after attending a local seminar on high-value crops.
Without large-scale partnerships or advanced technology, Ramon relied on publicly available guides and sporadic local training. He practiced careful spacing, intercropped with ginger, and applied basic inoculation methods learned from government extension officers.
After years of patient cultivation, Ramon managed a modest harvest in 2024, selling agarwood chips to a local buyer for below export-market rates—but still much higher than traditional crops. His success has encouraged three neighboring farmers to start planting, creating a small but hopeful cluster.
“I am still learning, but agarwood has brought new hope to my family’s land,” Ramon reflects. “Even a small sale helps. If more support comes, I know we can do better.”
These stories illuminate a crucial truth: whether you’re a former surgeon with resources and connections or a smallholder farmer with determination and patience, agarwood farming offers a viable path to financial transformation. The key lies in proper training, legal compliance, and building partnerships that turn individual hope into collective success.
What Government Can Do: A Call to Action for Governor Aumentado
The stories of Dr. Cercado and Ramon Cruz prove that agarwood farming works at any scale. But individual success stories, however inspiring, cannot transform an entire province’s agricultural landscape. That requires coordinated government action—and the opportunity for such leadership exists right now.
Training Programs in All Districts: Partner with the Department of Agriculture or TESDA to conduct comprehensive agarwood farming seminars in every municipality. Farmers need hands-on training in seedling selection, proper spacing, inoculation techniques, and harvest timing.
Seedling Subsidy Program: Through the Provincial Agriculture Office, provide subsidized seedlings exclusively from Bohol-based nurseries to qualified farmers. With seedlings typically costing ₱200 to ₱300 each, even a 50% subsidy could make the difference between a farmer taking the leap or staying trapped in traditional crops—while simultaneously supporting our local nursery industry.
Bohol Agarwood Research Center: Establish a dedicated research facility in partnership with UPLB and DOST. Focus on developing locally-adapted inoculation techniques, pest management strategies, and yield optimization methods.
Export Matchmaking Fairs: Organize trade fairs connecting Boholano farmers directly with Middle Eastern and European buyers. Direct market access eliminates middlemen and maximizes farmer profits while establishing Bohol as a recognized source of premium agarwood.
Provincial Oud Oil Processing Plant: According to BAPA leaders, establishing a centralized processing facility is crucial for maximizing farmer profits. Processing agarwood into oud oil—which commands over $30,000 per kilogram in international markets—would allow farmers to capture significantly more value from their harvest. A provincial processing plant would serve multiple municipalities while creating additional jobs in rural communities.
Governor Aumentado, you’ve championed agriculture—now let agarwood be your legacy crop. A few seedlings today can grow into the province’s biggest green gold industry tomorrow.
Plant Today, Prosper Tomorrow
You don’t have to leave your farm to find wealth. Just plant the right tree.
The formula is elegantly simple: Seed. Space. Inoculate. Wait. Harvest. Win.
Think about it: while other farmers struggle with unpredictable crop prices and weather dependency, agarwood farmers are building wealth that appreciates over time. Each passing year makes their trees more valuable, not less.
To all Boholano farmers: start small if you must, but start now. Plant a few trees on unused corners of your land. Learn as you go. Connect with other planters through the Bohol Agarwood Planters Association—strength multiplies when farmers unite behind a common vision.
To our leaders: the roots of prosperity grow deeper with your support. Training programs, seedling subsidies, and research investments today become tomorrow’s thriving rural economies.
The agarwood revolution isn’t coming. It’s already planting itself across Bohol. Will you be part of it—or watch from the sidelines as others plant their way to prosperity?
Every day you delay is a day closer to harvest that you’re not preparing for. The trees are waiting. The market is hungry. The opportunity is now.
(For comments, email lucelllarawan@gmail.com)
