THE PRESIDENT has ordered the crafting of a comprehensive development and rehabilitation plan for the coconut industry, calling on the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to spearhead a massive coconut replanting program in the country.
“There’s a big opportunity, so let’s have a look at that,” Mr. Marcos told PCA officials in a meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday. “We need to have a plan.”
Under the proposed Coconut Planting and Replanting Project, the PCA seeks to plant as many as 25 million trees annually from 2023 to 2028, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement released Thursday.
However, Mr. Marcos seemed unimpressed, saying: “Why will we stop in 2028?” The President emphasized the need for a “clear plan” and suggested that it be crafted by the PCA with inputs from coconut industry leaders.
“How many years do we need to take to rehabilitate the coconut industry?” he asked during the meeting as he noted that PCA officials should not be limited in its efforts by “political terms (of office).”
For the coconut planting and replanting project to gain traction, the PCA is recommending the issuance of a memorandum circular that will direct all concerned national government agencies and instrumentalities and urge local government units to support the project, the PCO said.
It said the agency has only managed to plant or replant about 1 to 3 million coconut trees, which is far from the estimated 34 million trees that it needs to replant, “due to budgetary constraints.”
The PCA said a whole-of-nation approach is needed to achieve its goal of planting 100 million trees in the next five years.
“The Philippines has a total area of 3.60 million hectares planted with coconut trees, or about 27 percent of total agricultural land,” the PCO noted. “It has 340.60 million coconut-bearing trees capable of producing 14 to 15 billion nuts annually.” Coconut production in the country fell to 13.83 MMT in 2016 before rising to 14.73 MMT in 2018, and 14.93 MMT in 2022 — from 15.86 million metric tons (MMT) of coconut in 2012. The Philippines remains the biggest exporter of coconut products, with export value amounting to $3.22 billion in 2022. Among the challenges confronting the sector are increasing tree senility, bearing tree losses due to pests and diseases, natural disasters, and climate change impact, according to the PCA. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
