THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will set up a P60 million tufting facility in Javier, Leyte that will process coco coir into exportable finished products.
PCA Regional Manager Edilberto Nierva said their agency is on the process of procuring machines in India for delivery within the year.
“Through tufting facility, we will not just be exporting low-cost raw fiber. If we can ship semi-finished and finished product, there’s an added value,” Nierva said.
The project will adopt the concept of shared service facilities (SSF) program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The initiative will also espouse the Public-Private Partnership scheme by way of convergence of resources among collaborating parties: local government unit (LGU), farmers group, DTI, and PCA.
The tufting facility will weave raw material to high quality mats, geotextiles, and rugs. The technology is expected to replace decorticating machines.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes, and Javier Mayor Leonardo Javier will sign an agreement in October 26 in Javier town on the operation of the said facility.
Under the agreement, PCA will provide the facility; the LGU will mobilize coconut farmers organization, and put up counterpart funds to enhance the facility.
In the PCA website, Forbes said the PCA will deploy some 500 units of manually-operated twinning machines to interested coconut farmer cooperatives in Javier town.
The machines will process coco coir fibers into ropes, twines, and other exportable products. Trading price of raw coco coir fibers is only P11.50 per kilograms.
Twine fibers can be sold to as much as P22 per kilogram, with an added value of P10.50 kilogram.
“The recipient cooperative will use the manually-operated twinning machine as a common service facility for its members in producing coco twines and in marketing the same to a project-cooperator of the tufting facility,” the PCA said in a statement.
Nierva said that coco coir processing project becomes fully operational; it can help about 500 families and can generate as much as 2,500 jobs solely for twine making.
Located 68 kilometers away from the regional capital Tacloban City, Javier is a 4th class municipality with nearly half of the 26,826 population are poor, according to a 2010 survey.
Last month, the DTI deployed 80 twining machines and 18 handloom weaving machines to shared service facility in Javier town for the use of Javier Integrated Producers Association. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)
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