BY: FERLIZA CALIZAR-CONTRATISTA
CEBU CITY, August 18 (PIA)--- The Philippine Coconut Authority calls on farmers and local government to push for coco coir production as a disaster preparation tool.
PCA technical head Aurora Paquibot said now that the effects of climate change are worsening it is high time that local government units push in terms of adaptation and production of coco coir.
“The coco coirs are entwined and made into nets and placed in landslide prone areas,” Paquibot said.
The coco coir has the capability to hold both land and water when placed in a slope.
Paquibot cited as an example a best practice of the City of Mandaue City in buying a locally produced coco coir geo-nets to protect their river slopes.
Recently PCA inked an agreement with Mandaue Coco Waste Processing Center for its production and other products that can be recovered from coconuts.
PCA trains the scavengers in barangay Umapad for the manual twining of the coconut coir from the husks and made these into geo-nets or geo textiles.
The waste processing center got the supply of husks disposed from Profoods company.
The produced geonets were bought by Mandaue City and some local government units outside and abroad.
Engr. Ricardo Mendoza of the Solid Waste Management Office said that the geo-nets are used in the riprapping of the Butuanon riverbanks.
Some projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Luzon also make use of coco coir geo-nets. (mbcn/FCC/PIA-Cebu)