The Province of Guimaras will soon produce coconet or geotextile which will be bought by the Coco Technologies Corporation, a pioneering company in the production of coconut fiber geotextiles. Jose M. Divinagracia, provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Guimaras, said the coconet production is an offshoot of the training attended by 68 coconut farmers and farmer- beneficiaries from the three Agrarian Reform Communities in Jordan town, the Philippine Information Agency said in a report.

The capability building workshop on coco-coir twining, weaving and geotextile making and carding was sponsored by the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion, the Province of Guimaras and other government agencies.

Hog farmers convention
to feature industry dev'ts

The latest technology, services and products for the hog industry will be showcased in the 16th Annual Convention and Trade Exhibits of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. on April 12 to 14 at the SM Mega Trade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

NFHFI president Albert Lim Jr. said the event, which will gather both commercial and backyards hog farmers from all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, seeks to enhance the opportunities for growth, efficiency, equity and sustainability of the country's P120-billion hog industry. The convention, on the theme, "Filipino Hog Farmers Grow and Go Global," will have Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap as the guest of honor and speaker.

It will also feature a series of seminars on modern swine production and the eradication of common swine diseases.

'Practice controlled
irrigation to save water'

The Philippine Rice Research Institute has recommended in its advisory the practice of controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying to optimize the use of irrigation water.

Jovino de Dios, head of the PhilRice Agronomy, Soils, and Plant Physiology Division, said advisory that water should be brought into the rice paddies only when the soil moisture is about to leave the root zone of the rice plant. This is done by placing a cylindrical object 15-centimeter deep in the wet season or 20-centimeter deep in the dry season from the soil surface, the advisory said.

The CI technology was developed by PhilRice, International Rice Research Institute, and the National Irrigation Administration from years 2001 to 2004.

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