The Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) vowed to improve the lives of Filipino coconut farmers and transform the industry toward sustainability.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., in a message read by Agriculture Undersecretary Roger V. Navarro during the celebration of the 38th National Coconut Week, said the event highlights the role of coconut farmers in building a prosperous, better and sustainable coconut industry.
“The coconut is more than just a symbol of our rich agricultural heritage. It is a powerhouse of Philippine agriculture. At present, we export more than 50 percent products and earned more than one billion or a billion dollars annually from crude coconut oil alone,” Tiu Laurel said.
“Today, we highlight the collaboration and partnership among the public and private sector of the coconut industry. We are committed to work together to strengthen every facet of the coconut value chain—from research and development to market access and farmer empowerment—we need to work more sustainably,” he added.
The agriculture chief also stressed the need to maximize opportunities to uplift the lives of coconut farmers, drive economic growth, and achieve the goal of a prosperous and progressive nation.
The United Nations, through the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), has provided alternative coconut-based farming livelihoods in targeted communities in the Philippines, especially after Typhoon Yolanda caused destruction in November 2013. An estimated 44 million trees were damaged or destroyed by the typhoon, affecting around 1 million coconut farmers. FAO News, DA
The program helped restore agricultural production, increased access to alternative certified seeds and quality planting materials, improved crop varieties and animal breeds, and introduced new methods of agro-ecology.
Coconut is one of the most important crops in the Philippines with the country being the second largest coconut producer in the world.
FAO implemented the Coconut-Based Farming Systems program which was part of the organization’s US$39.7-million Typhoon Haiyan Strategic Response Plan aiming to address the recovery needs of affected farming families.
Through the program, activities were designed to enable small-scale coconut farmers to plant short term vegetable cash crops and annual crops to provide alternative livelihood sources, while also integrating climate-smart farming technologies.
Restoring livelihoods and building the resilience of coconut farmers was a paramount consideration in the aftermath of the typhoon and this meant providing farmers with a stable source of alternative livelihood that can be sustained even with limited land resources and capital.
FAO and its partners established 129 Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) sites to enable coconut-based farming communities to plant vegetables and other cash crops to complement their main crops like coconut and corn.
By planting short-term, medium-term and permanent crops, farmers are able to gain alternative livelihood sources and make use of idle land under coconut plantations. FAO News, DA
