DOST-developed water hyacinth harvester set for tests in July

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will test-drive next month the harvester its scientists and engineers built to control the growth of water hyacinths in the country's major waterways. DOST Assistant Secretary Robert Dizon said they expect the new machine to be more efficient than the backhoes being used to unclog the Rio Grande de Mindanao of water hyacinths that impede the flow of floodwaters out to sea. Dizon explained that the new harvester is similar to commercially available models other tropical countries use, but the DOST's harvester was built with local parts and designed for Philippine conditions. Testing of the machine may be staged in Manggahan, Pasig City or in Pampanga province. Meanwhile, the DOST's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) said the clumps of water hyacinths removed from the Rio Grand can be used as landfill. PCIEERD executive director Amelia Guevara also said cleaning river water is the important ecological role of water hyacinths. “Our objective should not be to totally eradicate the water hyacinth, but to control its growth," Guevara said. The PCIEERD is also studying water hyacinths as possible raw materials for biogas production. Guevara also said water hyacinths can be processed into animal and fish feeds, charcoal briquettes, fiber boards, textile fiber, and organic fertilizer. Another DOST body, the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development said that in the province of Sultan Kudarat, water hyacinths from Lake Buluan are raw materials for cottage industries that produce bags, slippers and other fashion accessories. — ELR/VS, GMA News