Jagna farmers get coconut industry booster machines

JAGNA – COCONUT industry here gets a knock in the nuts when Mayor Exuperio Lloren, in collaboration with Governor Erico Aumentado's poverty reduction program brings to the people a bunch-ful of blessings: a decorticating machine and an expeller machine. Jagna, widely acknowledged as among the top coconut producing towns has for a long time wasted coconut coir, a highly priced coconut by-product all because nobody saw the coir's potentials. This however changed after a Filipino inventor is now at the helm of spreading an environment friendly technology from coir in flood control projects in China . With the invention, the demand for coir, which was then just tossed to rot in a corner has now gotten a value in gold.

The development also sparked up a new enthusiasm among coconut growers who saw the benefits of utilizing the often-discarded coir. Recently, town local officials called for a consultative meeting for coconut farmers with municipal agriculture officer (MAO) Calforo Mangyao, municipal planning and development officer (MPDO) Engr. Ronie Galabo and resource persons from concerned government agencies to break to the coco-growers the good news.

The meeting, May 16, was also attended by Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) district representatives Primo Galindez, Department of Agriculture (DA) technician Camilo Rizano, Environmental Officer for upland sector Celso Jamero, president of the small coconut farmers organization Anacleto Bayron and Primitivo Gonzales of the Small Coco Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Incorporated (SCFMCI).

PCA Central Visayas OIC Emil Balios, one of the speakers detailed the recent developments in coir extraction while another resource person from the Unlad Kabayan, Noel Simbajon who heads San Isidro Davao Oriental coconut coir and coconut peat industry shared his experience and expertise in the business. Jagna is one of four Bohol town recipients of the decorticating machine and recently, it also is one of the four Central Visayas towns to get an expeller machine.

Local coco-growers believe that the two technological inventions would be crucial advancements in the town's coco-industry. And would add up to the small farmer's family income. It was earlier gathered that the town has already identified a location where the two machines would be installed. The meeting was just an initial gathering to plan for the massive information dissemination that the town is adopting to inform the people of the good news.

l