First Mindanao Coconut Summit in Mati City, Davao Oriental
July 2, 2009 by BizMind
Filed under Business Events
The First Mindanao Coconut Summit will be held in Mati City, Davao Oriental on July 30-31. Under the auspices of the Davao Region Coconut Industry Cluster and the Mindanao Business Council with partners Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and the Department of Science and Technology, the provincial government of Davao Oriental with the support of the local government unit of Mati City will host this event.
The summit will focus on the commercial development of coconut products other than copra, for coconut has many money making products. One new opportunity is the production of coconut sugar out of the coconut sap or toddy. Traditionally, the sap is made into tuba, lambanog and vinegar. But the higher returns could be had by making the sap into coco sugar, syrup and energy drink. Coconut sugars commands a high price and is in big demand locally as well as abroad because it is found to have a high health value. It is a sugar in the form of fructose which is said to be better healthwise then the sucrose from sugarcane.
Another topic to be discussed will be the prospects of producing bio-organic fertilizer from coco coir dust, a by-product of coconut fiber extraction. Organic fertilizer is increasingly becoming popular because of the high cost of chemical fertilizers and the ballooning health conscious consumers who preferred organic farm products.
A new technology using brick kiln to produce higher-quality coconut shell charcoal will also be presented. there will also be discussions on possible intercrops for coconut trees. These include the growing of coffee and abaca in between the coconut trees. Also, the outlook of coconut oil as biofuel will be discussed.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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