The Department of Agriculture is stepping up support for oil palm in Mindanao to reduce the country’s reliance on imported cooking oil while raising local farmers’ earnings.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the department is seeking a P1.2-billion budget for 2027, a sharp jump from this year’s slashed P79 million allocation, to fund fertilizer assistance, expand plantation areas and increase productivity.
“Let’s invest where farmers earn,” Tiu Laurel said during a strategy meeting, highlighting oil palm development as part of a broader push to link public spending with profitability.
Oil palm yields average 3.8 metric tons per hectare, compared with less than one metric ton for coconut, allowing farmers to earn at least twice the roughly P90,000 annual income of coconut growers.
Philippine Coconut Authority administrator Dexter Buted said the agency is developing local planting materials, including nurseries in Caraga using germinated seeds imported through government-to-government arrangements, which could significantly cut costs.
Oil palm covers about 100,000 hectares nationwide, mostly in Mindanao. Despite growing production, the Philippines continues to import large volumes of palm oil, leaving a supply gap the DA aims to close.
Mindanao will also host a government-backed nursery at the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato, sourcing disease-free planting materials from Malaysia.
Tiu Laurel acknowledged the need for better sector data. “We need to fix the data to optimize our investment in this crop,” he said.
The country has 11 palm oil mills and five refineries, including a modern P600 million facility in Sultan Kudarat supported by Land Bank of the Philippines and the DA.
With rising cooking oil demand and persistent imports, the DA believes that palm oil is ready for expansion.
