Mindanaotoday.com | PCA-10 to farmers: Don’t rely on copra
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – While a whole-of-government mechanism is being firmed up to resuscitate the country’s coconut industry, farmers must find ways to eke out a living instead of relying solely on copra production.
Manuel Octobre, Philippine Coconut Authority-10 regional manager, in a Meet-the-Press forum in Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday, September 28, said that while they keep an eye on prices of copra, yet they have no control on them.
As of Monday (September 19) last week, PCA-10 recorded an average of P28.52 farm-gate price for a kilo of copra and a mill-gate price of P33.50 – figures lower than this year’s August 1 price-per-kilo postings of P33.91 and P38.17.
PCA records show the average farm-gate price of copra in November 2021 was P36 per kilo, way above the P14-per-kilo average farm-gate price in November 2019.
Octobre said enterprising coconut farmers who, in recent years, have ventured into coco-sugar processing, instead of selling “tuba” (coconut wine), have been earning better than selling copra.
He said that some manufacturing firms, he said, have been into processing and marketing of coconut water, thus earning from what used to be liquid wastes, on top of their usual coconut oil extraction from copra and desiccated coconut operations.
Coconut oil for cooking, as raw material in the preparation of hair oil, shampoo, detergents and margarine, desiccated coconuts, copra meal and cake, and other coco-based products traditionally comprise about 65 percent of Northern Mindanao exports.
But Octobre said the region can supply only about 39 percent of the volume existing oil mills and desiccated processing plants can absorb, thus the bulk of raw materials comes from other coconut-producing areas, including those in Davao (Region 11) and Zamboanga (Region 9) regions.
He said once these two regions integrate the coconut industry players and set up oil mills and processing facilities, Northern Mindanao (Region 10) would experience a vacuum among its industry players.
These include Granexport Manufacturing Corporation and Osamco Manufacturing Corporation in Lanao del Norte; Third Millennium Oil Mill, and Grand Asia Integrated Natural Coco Products Corporation in Misamis Occidental; Limketkai Manufacturing Corporation, Wilmar Edible Oil Philippines, Inc., Philippine Global Oil Mil, and Axelum Resources Corporation in Misamis Oriental.
Last year, Northern Mindanao with 296,000 hectares planted to over 33 million coconut trees was the second largest coconut-producing region, just behind Davao Region (Region 11) while Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) was third.
PCA-10 spent close to P20 million under the incentivised coconut planting/replanting project, benefitting 1,830 coconut farmers.
It also distributed about 14,000 bags of inorganic and organic fertilizers to 1,404 farmers.
Octobre said that while they assist coconut farmers with seedlings and fertilizers to boost production, beneficiaries must also adopt PCA’s intercropping program utilizing lands planted to coconuts.
Some 20,500 banana suckers and 2,500 heads of free-range chicken were delivered and dispersed to coconut farmers (those who have been tilling less than five-hectares of land) last year.
The PCA-10 head said they are awaiting for specific guidelines on the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) which was approved for adoption when former President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order 172 last June 2, this year.
CFIDP preparation came after the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act (R.A. 11524) was signed into law last February 28, 2021. The law also reconstitutes the PCA Board which, as of this writing, has not been formally created. (MT)
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