 | Order creating coco coir dev't body awaits PNoy signature |
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InterAksyon.com- The online news portal of TV5; March 26, 2013 4:51 PM MANILA - The government will establish a body to oversee the coco coir industry, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Tuesday. Coco coir is a fiber extracted from coconut husks and used in making brushes, doormats, floor mats, mattresses and nets. In a statement, the DTI said Philippine Coco Coir Exporters Association Inc (Philcoir) president Ariel F. Aguirre announced that a draft executive order (EO) that shall create the Philippine Coco Coir Industry Development Council (PCCIDC) is awaiting the President’s signature. Aguirre made the announcement during last week’s 2nd National Coco Coir Summit in Lucena City. The proposed EO was drafted by the national technical working group (TWG) on coco noir led by DTI Undersecretary Merly M. Cruz. The TWG was tasked to formulate a comprehensive development plan for the coco coir industry. The EO creating the PCCIDC “intends to promote and foster the development of the coco coir industry [by] directing domestic utilization in organic agriculture, horticulture and soil erosion-control projects of government, expanding value-added, and export promotion,” the DTI said. “We expect that this historic and important EO will be signed by the President soon and consequently prioritize attention and ensure consolidated and sustained effort for the coco coir industry,” the DTI quoted Aguirre as saying. With the EO in place, “the industry can look forward to the creation of a big domestic market for coco coir products,” the agency said. For instance, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could use the coco nets made from coco coir as erosion control and slope protection for its road projects, while the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) could use coco nets in the rehabilitation of mining sites. Coco peat could be used as fertilizer by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). “We are hopeful that this EO will finally unlock the huge economic potential of the coco fiber and coco peat subsectors bringing about the unprecedented growth and helping alleviate poverty in the countryside,” Aguirre said. (By: Ben Arnold O. De Vera, InterAksyon.com) |
