PCA eyes P3.5 budget in 2018

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is looking at a P3.5-billion budget next year, more than double its current allocation, as it plans to increase planting of coconut trees nationwide.

In an interview, PCA administrator Avelino Andal said the agency has requested P3.5 billion for 2018, more than double the P1.4 billion allocation this year.

“Bulk of the budget will be for the purchase of more coconut seedlings and more fertlizers. The agency is being given money for the past three years but they are not really spending it,” Andal told The STAR.

The PCA targets to increase the number of coconut trees by at least 10 million trees this year, 15 million trees in 2018, and 20 million trees every year starting 2019.

“We will also focus on other livelihood component such as coconut enterprise and high value coconut products. We want the farmers to deviate from the mere coconut and copra, alone,” Andal said.

“If they don’t leave that track, coconut farmers will remain the poorest among the farmers’ sector,” he added.

PCA has been targeting the entry of the country’s high-value coconut-based products such as coconut oil and coco sugar to various markets such as Russia and China, among others.

Andal said the agency is concentrating on added-value products to supplement  income.

Latest data showed that 3.5 million hectares are planted with coconut or 26 percent of the country’s total agricultural land and 68 out of the 81 provinces are coconut areas.

The Philippines is one of the top producers of high quality coconuts and is the second biggest exporter of coconut-based products globally.

Coconut remains one of the top agricultural exports of the country, earning as much as $1.2 to 1.5 billion annually.

Local production was down by 2.3 percent in the first quarter due to the development of less and smaller nuts as a result of the dry spell and cocolisap infestation in Mindanao.