Despite its completion three years ago, the P7.3 million facility of the provincial government of Aurora for the production of coco coir nets has remained non-operational, the Commission on Audit (COA) said.
In its 2023 annual audit report (AAR), the COA said that the subproject, Establishment of Processing Facilities with Solar Dryer, composed of interdependent I-REAP and I-Build components has not served its purpose because of the sharp decline in market demand for coco coir nets and failure to maintain market ties with prospective buyers.
Google says "coco coir is material from the coconut husk usually made into coco nets which is used in civil engineering to hold soil in place to prevent erosion."
It said the project's proponent, Maria Aurora Development Cooperative (MADECO), attributed the project's inability to start operation due to lack of funding to procure a higher capacity transformer that is required for equipment.
It also said that MADECO had sought funding assistance from the province to start its operation in 2023.
But COA said that its audit team's 2024 ocular inspection of the project site revealed that while the transformer has already been installed and raw materials already procured, MADECO still has not started anything as there is lack of demand for the coco coir nets and its byproducts.
It said it was informed that the province entertained the idea of venturing into alternative use of the facilities. It also said the province planned to make alternative products that can be made from coconut husks. However, the plan remained uncertain due to lack of funding for the relevant training of its workers, it added.
"There being no other alternative for the productive use of the completed facilities, the economic benefits that were envisioned to be derived from the completed subprojects and the objective of the increased number of operational and viable enterprise nationwide remained unrealized," COA's report stated.
The report also stated that MADECO has reached out to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to help finance the training of at least 20 of their standby workers for the said purpose. The request has yet to be approved by DTI, it stated.
Thus, COA recommended that the province of Aurora explore other market opportunities for their products while following up on the request for assistance with the DTI.