Senators see brighter prospects for the multibillion-peso coconut industry, including bigger benefits for millions of coconut farmers, following third reading approval by the Senate on Monday of the awaited coco levy trust fund.
The lawmakers, in separate interviews, conveyed a positive outlook predicting an end to the decades-long saga of coconut farmers soon as the bill is enacted into law under the Duterte administration.
Sen. Juan Edgardo M. Angara affirmed that “passing the [coco levy] law is but a step in the right direction.” He added: “What is important is that the farmers really get to feel the benefits of the coco levy.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said concerned sectors need to get their act together to ensure mutual benefit for industry players.
“Yes, I am confident that [the] government, with coconut farmers-representatives, can craft an industry plan to benefit coconut farmers with adequate resources to fund the programs and projects,” Recto told the BusinessMirror.
He noted, however, that “the challenge will be the absorptive capacity of the Department of Agriculture, in the short term.”
For his part, Sen. Francis G. Escudero voiced expectations of coconut farmers from his home region in Southern Luzon that early enactment of the law should trigger brighter prospects for the sector.
Asked if the passage of the coco levy trust fund would see the end of the decades-long saga of millions of coconut farmers, Escudero replied: “Hopefully, yes.” Escudero said the most pressing challenge for the sector and the government is the “preservation of the coco levy trust fund and the proper utilization of its fruits for the benefit of coconut farmers.”
At the same time, Sen. Gregorio B. Honasan II also foresee brighter prospects for the coconut farmers. “The decades-long struggle of our coconut farmers is, hopefully, finally coming to a new beginning; hopefully charting a clear long-term direction, which will enhance productivity in the agricultural sector, uplift and improve the lives of our farmers.”