LUCENA CITY—The head of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has urged various stakeholders of the coconut industry in Quezon province “to put their acts together” to achieve a full resurgence of the industry and contribute more to the country’s economy.
“Let’s start thinking and putting our acts together by increasing our agricultural production, organizing and strengthening our producers, millers, processors and traders; setting quality standards and branding to our coconut products to meet the demands of the foreign markets,” PCA administrator Romulo de la Rosa urged the participants at the Coconut Industry Stakeholders Consultative Forum at Bulwagang Kalilayan at Governor’s Mansion compound here on Monday.
The forum, which bears the theme “CoCoperation for a sustainable and vibrant coconut industry in Calabarzon,” gathered together coconut farmers, millers, processors, traders and PCA officials in Quezon province and aims to present the status and updates of the government programs and projects for the coconut industry, assess the supply-demand gap of the industry in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) region and craft unified strategic plans for a stable supply of nuts for the industry sector and equitable gains of the key players, particularly the coconut farmers.
Attending the forum beside de la Rosa at the presidential table were Erlene Manohar, regional manager of PCA-Calabarzon region; Roberto Gajo, head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA); and First District provincial board member Claro Talaga Jr., Sangguniang Panglalawigan chairman of the committee on agriculture.
De la Rosa said that during the 1990s, when the coconut-industry was described as a “sunset industry,” coconut-oil millers were only able to operate 40 percent to 50 percent of capacity, as there were not enough coconuts to process, and the price of copra sank.
He added there is a need to replant, irrigate, fertilize and encourage the small coconut producers to hybridize and for the seed producers to come up with good, quality and certified seeds to enhance productivity of all sectors in the coconut industry.
Gajo claimed Quezon province has about 1.3 million metric tons of coconut production last year, making it as the top coconut producer in the country.
Gajo commended Manohar for having a close coordination of programs and activities with the local government units in the coconut industry, especially in Quezon province.
Gajo mentioned OPA’s efforts toward enhancement of coconut production, its coconut-fertilization program, integrated pest management and the establishment of coconut nurseries in Barangay Talaan in Sariaya and Barangay Santo Domingo in Calauag.
To further prevent indiscriminate and rampant cutting of coconut trees in the province, Gajo cited Gov. David Suarez’s executive order suspending the issuance of barangay clearance on cutting of coconut trees by barangay chairmen.
He also disclosed the major coconut processors in the province: 22 coconut-oil refineries and millers, six coconut-coir producers, coco- chemical manufacturers, 20 virgin coconut-oil producers, nine Lambanog (coco wine) manufacturers and nine coco handicraft makers.
Manohar showed a slide presentation about Calabarzon as “The Hub of the Coconut Industry in Luzon,” with 480,179 hectares of coconut-plantation area, with a total coconut population of 73 million coconut trees consisting of 52.3 million bearing trees; 16.1 million nonbearing trees; and 6.4 million senile trees; and an estimated production of 2.6 billion nuts a year.
It also showed that some 6,305,324 coconut trees have been planted in Calabarzon since 2010 up to the present, and a total of 1,800,426 seedlings have been planted 2013 to last year.
Manohar called for convergence and synergy of efforts among interrelated government agencies that have to do with the development of the coconut industry in the country. She cited the Alabat coco-sap sugar as a Coco Hub convergence project between the PCA and the local government units of Quezon province and Alabat municipal government.
Bibiano Concibido Jr., assistant manager of Franklin Baker, a coconut desicating processing plant in San Pablo City, bared the challenges of the coconut-processing industry, especially in the coconut-desicating sector and expressed desire to coordinate with PCA on coconut replanting activities as gap between supply and demand of raw materials is widening.
The forum also focused on sectoral reports, updates and projections of traditional and nontraditional products before Manohar made the final presentation of strategic plan and agreement for the coconut industry in Calabarzon, which will be submitted for the PCA regional managers meeting on December 19.