THE Department of Agriculture (DA) asked the 20^th Congress to amend the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act to refocus the law to support replantings.

“We must revise the law to focus the trust fund’s resources on the most critical needs — particularly replanting,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement.

“Many of our coconut trees are senile. If we don’t replace them immediately, we risk the industry’s future.”

Coconut trees over 50 years old produce less than half the typical yield. Younger trees produce around 80-100 nuts a year.

“While the fruit-bearing capacity of older trees may be temporarily boosted with salt fertilization, replanting is the only long-term solution to sustain the viability of the coconut sector,” the DA said.

With 3 million farmers working on 3.6 million hectares of coconut plantations, the Philippines is the world’s second-largest coconut producer and exporter after Indonesia.

But the DA said the sector is “underperforming,” with only 134 processing plants operating — many at just 50% capacity — and 60 oil mills remaining well below their combined capacity of 3.7 million metric tons due to “low farm yields.”

“These reforms are about more than productivity — they’re about securing the livelihoods of millions of Filipino coconut farmers,” the DA said.

Each year, the industry exports an average of $2 billion worth of crude and refined coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra meal, and coconut water from about 14 to 15 billion nuts.

“If the Philippines can increase yields, it could ride the wave of increasing demand for coconut oil, particularly in Europe,” the DA said.

“Although the yearly targets are expected to be met, the current pace of planting still needs to be accelerated to assure the industry’s sustainability,” it added.

The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) planted 8.6 million seedlings in 2024, exceeding the 8.5 target even during El Niño.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. set a target of planting 100 million coconut trees by 2028.

For 2025, the government has allocated P1 billion for planting and P1.8 billion for fertilization. 

“But to truly scale the effort, the P80-billion trust fund must be refocused toward high-impact programs that lift productivity and farmer incomes,” the DA said.

“The proposed amendment will allow greater flexibility to ensure a more responsive and adaptive approach to the evolving needs of coconut farmers and the industry.”

Aside from replanting, the proposed amendment to the trust fund law should also finance drip irrigation, water impounding, fertilization, and farmer welfare programs. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

AGRICULTURE OUTPUT likely grew in the second quarter after year-earlier production was held down by the El Niño, analysts said, adding that high-value crops like rice and corn are believed to have driven growth.

The second-quarter result also came in before consecutive tropical storms traversed the Philippines in July.

Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said via Viber that the second quarter data will reflect a “slight increase” because of base effects. The year-earlier result had been “relatively low” because of dry conditions resulting from El Niño.

“Crops may exhibit a slight rebound, while poultry will continue to be the lone bright spot in the agricultural sector,” he said.

The value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices dropped 3.3% to P413.91 billion in the second quarter of 2024, with crops and livestock production leading the declines.

It was the biggest drop since the 3.4% contraction posted in the first quarter of 2021.

Former Agriculture secretary William Dar said via Viber that crops like vegetables likely performed in the second quarter because of favorable weather.

Corn and rice are believed to have driven growth in the crops sector, former Agriculture undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano said via Viber.

“Vegetable production will likely increase given good weather,” he added.

Crop output, which accounts for half of agricultural production, fell 8.6% year on year in the second quarter of 2024, with production of palay and corn declining 9.5% and 20.3%, respectively.

Sugarcane, onion, tomato, mung bean (monggo), and abaca also posted double-digit declines in production.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said last week that palay (unmilled rice) harvest may have increased 13.2% to 4.35 million metric tons (MMT) in the second quarter.

It said as of June 1, almost 90% of the 972,750-hectare standing crop was harvested, yielding palay output of 3.89 MMT.

Mr. Montemayor of the FFF said poultry likely continued to be the “lone bright spot” in agriculture in the second quarter.

“Poultry and fishery production might rebound again because of good weather compared to the same quarter last year when El Niño struck the country,” Mr. Adriano said.

Poultry output rose 8.7% year on year in the three months to June 2024, with chicken egg, chicken, duck, and duck egg production rising.

Fisheries output, meanwhile, rose 2.2% in the second quarter of 2024, a turnaround from the 13.8% decline a year earlier, amid gains in the catches of skipjack or gulyasan, bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, frigate tuna or tulingan, P. Vannamei, blue crab, fimbriated sardines, and cavalla or talakitok.

“The fisheries sub-sector will likewise post minimal growth,” Mr. Dar said.

The analysts said livestock output likely contracted in the second quarter of 2025.

“The piggery sub-sector continues to be posting dismal output due to the prevalence of the African Swine Fever (ASF),” Mr. Dar said.

Hogs account for 12.4% of livestock production.

The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve a Vietnamese vaccine against ASF for commercial rollout, though Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., said in late July that the first 150,000 doses of the AVAC have been distributed.

“Livestock will continue its downward trend due to the persistent spread of ASF,” Mr. Adriano said.

The Bureau of Animal Industry reported active ASF cases in 32 barangays across the country as of June 20, down from 64 a week earlier.

As of July 11, the number of affected barangays had declined to 28.

Livestock production fell 0.3% in the second quarter of 2024, reversing the 0.7% expansion a year earlier, led by weak goat, carabao, and hog production.