Some 100,000 tons of coconut coir dust in a factory in Mati City, Davao Oriental, will soon be converted into gold, so to speak, thanks to the joining of forces of businessman Eric Rabat and Dr. Rene Sumaoang of the Novatech Group of Companies.

Mr. Rabat operates a coconut coir factory that processes each day some 30,000 husks into coconut fiber for export to China. Only 20 percent of the husk is fiber while the 80 percent is dust. Thus, in the last two years that he has been in this business, at least 100,000 tons of coir dust have accumulated, posing a huge waste disposal problem. Now, however, it promises to be a gold mine.

Dr. Sumaoang who is a biochemist is helping Eric solve his waste disposal problem, and at the same time making good money out of it. He has mastered the production of bio-organic fertilizer out of agricultural wastes that include coir dust and chicken manure. Production of the organic fertilizer is done with the use of Biosec, a formulation of enzymes and beneficial microorganisms that Novatech has developed.

Rabat is the newest franchisee of the Novatech technology. Earlier franchisees are found in Bantayan Island in Cebu, Pampanga, Batangas, Ilocos Sur and Camarines Sur.

Facilities for the manufacture of Durabloom bio-organic fertilizer are now under construction. The factory should be able to start production by late April with a capacity of 10,000 bags of 50 kilos each per month, according to Dr. Sumaoang. The fertilizer raw materials will consist of 50 percent coir dust and 50 percent chicken manure.

This development is timely because Davao Oriental needs a lot of organic fertilizer. The supply, however, is coming from General Santos which is quite a distance away. Davao Oriental has wide areas in need of organic fertilizer. It has 156,000 hectares of coconut, 8,000 hectares planted to corn twice a year and 3,000 hectares planted once. The province also has 6,500 hectares of irrigated rice land and 1,576 hectares of rainfed fields. Large areas are also planted to cassava, cacao, coffee, cardaba and lakatan bananas. Vegetable production is also being promoted now.