Table of Contents

I. OVERVIEW

II. PRODUCT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF SISAL AND HENEQUEN PRODUCTS

III. ABACA: IMPROVEMENT OF FIBRE EXTRACTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF HIGHER YIELDING VARIETIES

IV. COIR-BASED BUILDING AND PACKAGING MATERIAL

V. IMPROVEMENT IN DRYING, SOFTENING, BLEACHING, DYEING COIR FIBRE/YARN AND PRINTING COIR FIBRE

VI. PRODUCT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH VALUE-ADDED COIR PRODUCTS

VII. SEMINAR ON ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS FOR SISAL AND HENEQUEN

VIII. NEW PROPOSALS

I. OVERVIEW

1. This document reports progress on three projects, one on sisal which commenced in 1998, one on abaca which commenced also in 1998 and one on coir which commenced in 1999. Two original projects on coir, which commenced in 1994 and 1995 have been completed.

2. The document incorporates information available to the Secretariat at the time of its preparation. Reports on some projects are overdue, and additional information that becomes available will be provided to the Joint Meeting. It is expected also that delegates from those countries where projects are active will be able to inform the Meeting of their progress. It is also hoped that delegates might report on the impact which completed projects have had and on activities which have been conducted following their completion.

3. The IGG on Hard Fibres, in its capacity as the Supervisory Body, is requested to review the progress of the following projects, and to offer guidance on issues raised.

II. PRODUCT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF SISAL AND HENEQUEN PRODUCTS

4. The main objectives of this project are to (i) establish the techno-economic feasibility of using sisal fibre in various grades of paper; (ii) develop new varieties of sisal that will be suitable for various end-uses; (iii) develop processes for commercial valorization of sisal wastes; (iv) establish market outlets for the new products and evolve strategies for penetrating such markets; and (v) disseminate widely the technology and market information from the project widely, and promote commercial adoption of the new technologies.

5. Agreements for this project were signed in December 1996, and, after a period devoted to laying the groundwork for major activities in subsequent years, project activities proper commenced early in 1998. A review of past research and production practices was finalized with a meeting in April of that year, and a report on this meeting is to be published. Variety trials and tests of alternative planting methods began.

6. A mid-term evaluation was conducted in October 1999. The mission visited project sites in Kenya and Tanzania and made a number of recommendations aimed at re-juvenating the project. Some of the recommendations of the Mission related to project management, and as a result the Project Co-ordinating Committee decided to eliminate the post of Chief Technical Advisor and to strengthen the offices of national project officers in Tanzania and Kenya.

7. Activities in the past year have included:

a) In Tanzania:

• Continuing variety trials, nursery trials, and the commissioning of the meristematic tissue culture laboratory for plant propagation.
  
  
• a contract has been awarded for a plant to test the feasibility of flume tow recovery; plans have been developed and a loan application made (see below) for a biogas plant to use sisal waste;
  
  
• crushing tests on the extraction of fibre for pulping were conducted in the Netherlands; a study tour to Brazil and Mexico included, inter alia, the collection of information on the sisal pulping and utilization at the plant Companhia de Celulose da Bahia (CCB) which operated in the 1980s in Brazil;
  
  
• a report on the market for sisal pulp was completed, but the consultant was asked to provide additional information, and it was noted that the study lacked clear recommendations for follow-up action.

b) In Kenya:

• variety trials are underway, meristematic tissue culture trials are proceeding;
  
  
• preliminary tests have been completed on a new flume tow recovery plant;
  
  
• trials feeding sisal waste to livestock indicate better results with cattle than with goats;
  
  
• arrangements are in hand for fibre crushing tests to commence.

8. As well as evaluating the progress of this project, the IGG will be asked to offer guidance on a proposed revision to the loan provisions.

9. A major element of the project as originally endorsed by the IGG and approved by the CFC, but which has not yet commenced, is the construction of a pilot plant in Tanzania for the production of pulpable fibre, for which loan finance of US$1.25 million was approved by the CFC. This loan was to have been made to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, and on-lent to the Tanzania Sisal Authority (TSA).

10. It was also intended that a pilot plant would be built (as part of the waste utilisation element) to generate biogas energy from sisal waste. This was expected to have been funded by another donor, and was not part of the funding proposal promoted by the IGG and agreed to by the Common Fund.

11. However, the CFC has asked whether the IGG would, in principle, endorse a change to this element of the project.

12. Firstly, it is now expected by the project counterparts in Tanzania that the proposed pilot pulping plant can be completed for around US$600 000, considerably less than the original estimate of US$1.25 million. Also, the pilot biogas plant will now not be financed by the other donor, for reasons which apparently do not reflect on the feasibility of the project, and it is consequently proposed that the loan from the CFC, already approved for the purpose of a pilot pulping plant, be used to cover both the pilot biogas plant and the pilot pulping plant. Under this proposal a loan of approximately US$750 000 for a biogas plant and US$600 000 for a pulping plant would now be made to Katani Ltd, the company which took over most of the assets of the former TSA, to be guaranteed by an entity acceptable to the CFC.

13. It is to be noted however, that if supported by the Group, a loan request for the energy generation facility would still need to be submitted to, and reviewed by, the Common Fund's technical and approving organs.

The IGG is therefore asked to consider whether it would approve:

14. A change in the purpose of the loan, subject to the outcome of a feasibility study, contracted by the CFC to incorporate a pilot plant to generate biogas from sisal waste; and

15. That the loan would now be made to Katani Ltd, guaranteed by a commercial bank, rather than to the Government for on-lending to the now non-existent Tanzania Sisal Authority.

III. ABACA: IMPROVEMENT OF FIBRE EXTRACTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF HIGHER YIELDING VARIETIES

16. This project was formulated to comprise three components: (i) design, production and testing of improved fibre extraction equipment; (ii) exchange of, and field trials with, high yielding disease resistant varieties in the Philippines and Ecuador; and (iii) technical support, project management and dissemination of project results.

17. The project agreements between the Common Fund, FAO and UNIDO were signed in June and July of 1997. Project activities commenced in the Philippines in 1999. There was some uncertainty as to whether Ecuador would participate in the project, but the involvement of that country was confirmed in the course of 1999.

IV. COIR-BASED BUILDING AND PACKAGING MATERIAL

18. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the potential of the application of a specific technology for the production of high quality fibreboards, by making use of the high content of lignin in coir fibre. The project, which is to be executed by Institute ATO-DLO in the Netherlands, was approved by the Executive Board of the Common Fund in July 1997. Agreements were signed in mid-1999, and project activities have been under way since the beginning of 2000. A simple process has been used to produce a board successfully from coconut husk, and its mechanical properties have been tested.

V. IMPROVEMENT IN DRYING, SOFTENING, BLEACHING, DYEING COIR FIBRE/YARN AND PRINTING COIR FIBRE

19. The objective of the project was to contribute to demand for coir fibre, coir yarn and coir door mats, mattings and carpets by improving their competitive position with synthetics in the consuming countries through the development of improved processes for (i) the development of cost-efficient technology for drying coir fibre and yarn; (ii) softening, bleaching and fast colour dyeing of fibre and yarn; and (iii) fast colour printing of coir products.

20. Project activities effectively commenced in the second half of 1995. Initial progress was slower than expected, but the project has now concluded. An international seminar was held in India in December 1997, and a set of proceedings, Wet Processing of Coir Fibres, was published by Central Coir Research Institute. Two local field days were held in Sri Lanka to demonstrate the prototype dryer.

Some promising results were obtained from the project:

• A drying system was developed, tested and demonstrated in Sri Lanka. Throughput is in the order of 1 tonne per 10 hours at a cost of one Sri Lanka Rupee per kg, and the construction of a semi-commercial factory layout has been proposed.
  
  
• Research into softening has been successful, but recommendations have been made for further research based on combined bleaching and chemical softening. Further research on the effects of pH on the physical and chemical structure of coir is recommended.
  
  
• Progress was made with research into chemical and biological bleaching. The cost of this treatment is a problem warranting further attention, as the quantity of chemical used may be reduced. More research is required into several aspects of bleaching.
  
  
• Good results have been obtained with dyeing, but more attention is needed to methods of application.
  
  
• Improvements have also been made with printing, but problems remain with wearability and with sticking of tufts.

21. The Joint Meeting of the IGGs on Jute and Hard Fibres in December 1998 stressed that action should be taken to disseminate the results to all member countries. Consequently, a technical report on the results of the project is expected to be published in 2000.

22. The project teams identified potential benefits which might be realised from further research and development on coir fibre processing, and some efforts have been made to formulate proposals for "follow-on" projects. These include a proposal for the establishment of a pilot plant / demonstration unit / training facility for the manufacture of brown fibre and products in Sri Lanka, and one on biotechnological upgrading and mechanisation for coir spinning in India.

VI. PRODUCT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH VALUE-ADDED COIR PRODUCTS

23. The objective of this project was to assist producing countries to diversify and expand production and trade of high value-added coir products, particularly rubberized coir, coir geo-textiles and coir dust.

24. The project culminated with seminars in Sri Lanka and India in August 1998, where results of the project were provided to participants. These results indicate that considerable potential exists for increased exports of geotextiles, coir peat and rubberized coir. The project identified markets for specific coir products in importing countries, and it brought potential exporters into contact with importers. In some cases export sales have already resulted from the project, and requests from exporters for further contact with importers have continued beyond the life of the project.

25. A report outlining the findings of the project has been published.

VII. SEMINAR ON ALTERNATIVE APPLICATIONS FOR SISAL AND HENEQUEN

26. Following a request made by the Project Coordinating Committee of the project Product And Market Development Of Sisal And Henequen Products, the Common Fund agreed to support a one-day seminar on 14 December 2000 as part of the Joint Meeting. Under this "Fast Track" project, the Fund has provided US$30 000 to allow various experts to present papers to this seminar.

VIII. NEW PROPOSALS

27. Further project ideas might be sent to the Secretariat in advance of the Joint Meeting for consideration by the Group at the session. Any project ideas that receive the approval of the Group would need to be developed into proposals.

28. In considering any new proposals for submission to the Common Fund, it should be noted that the Fund's ability to continue to make grant finance available is limited, and that the CFC is keen to increase the proportion of project activities funded by loans. The Fund has a policy of directing grant finance only to least-developed countries, although as many fibre-producing countries fall into this category, this policy will be of less consequence for hard fibres than for many other commodities. The CFC continues to stress the importance of co-financing from other sources and particularly wishes to see indications of tangible interest from the commercial sector. As a general rule, it will not provide more that 50 percent of the budget for grant-financed projects.

Table 1. Summary of Hard Fibres Common Fund Projects