President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved an additional budget for the massive planting/replanting and fertilization programs of the coconut industry for fiscal year (FY) 2025, amounting to PhP1 billion and PhP2.5 billion, respectively.
Under the Philippine Coconut Industry Development Plan 2024-2034 (PCIDP 2024-2034), the Philippine Coconut Industry aims to plant 100 million coconut trees by 2028.
To fully implement the project, the President also approved the proposal of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to increase the fertilization program budget to PhP2.5 billion in 2025.
The President made this approval on Tuesday during a sectoral meeting in Malacañang in response to his directive in October last year for a detailed plan to develop the coconut industry across all areas of the value chain, along with the necessary funding and timeline to accomplish its targets.
“So that’s why I’m focusing on the production side, and that’s what we have to increase. The critical part of that is the replanting,” the President said.
PCA Administrator Dexter Buted stated that the additional PhP1 billion budget for the planting and replanting program will enable the planting of 15.3 million trees in 2025.
Under the program, the PCA will plant/replant a total of 100 million coconut seedlings on 700,000 hectares of land nationwide by 2028, aiming to increase coconut production by 4.7 billion nuts, valued at PhP33.1 billion by 2034.
For this year, the PCA plans to plant 8.5 million seedlings, followed by 15.3 million in 2025, and 25.4 million annually from 2026 to 2028.
The President emphasized the importance of the replanting program due to the industry’s significant potential. “That’s why we still maintain our very high position in terms of coconut products exports because despite the fact that we have neglected the coconut industry over so many years, we still, I think we’re number one pa rin,” President Marcos said.
“And despite the fact that we are really working with very limited raw material because nga hindi nag-replant puro matanda na ‘yung mga trees natin. That’s why this replanting is important,” he added.
According to the President, there is a significant market for coconut products, and he expects the private sector to purchase all the supply “because the market is so large and growing,” and the industry has not yet reached the market’s limit on coconut product demand.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will also implement intercropping while farmers wait for the trees to become productive. Among the crops that will be planted are coffee, cacao, and bananas.
The President also directed the PCA to work closely with the Cooperative Development Authority to consolidate farmers’ groups and associations to effectively implement the massive planting/replanting program.
The 10-year PCIDP plan was developed to address critical constraints, such as the low growth rate of the coconut industry in terms of production, low nut yield due to the aging coconut tree population, natural calamities, pests and diseases, poor farming practices, and insufficient budget allocation.
To implement the plan, the PCA has proposed a budget of PhP102.02 billion over the 10-year period to cover the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the PPAs.
Farmers currently earn meager incomes due to their limited participation in the coconut value chain and inability to diversify into other coconut products aside from copra.
Current programs and projects in the industry include the development of hybrid coconut seed farms, nurseries for planting and replanting, research; training of farmers and their families; marketing and promotion; crop insurance; credit programs; infrastructure development; a scholarship program; and a health and medical program.
There are also efforts for farm improvements through diversification and/or intercropping, shared facilities for processing, as well as the empowerment of coconut farmers’ organizations and their cooperatives.
The Philippine coconut industry contributed US$3.22 billion to the country’s export earnings in 2022, representing 43 percent of the country’s total agricultural exports. PND
