ONE of the high-impact initiatives that the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should undertake in the next five to six years is the faithful implementation of the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP).

The CFIDP was approved by thenPresident Rodrigo Duterte through Executive Order 172 signed on June 2, 2022, paving the way for the utilization and release of the P75-billion fund provided by Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the “Coconut Farmers and Industry Fund Act.”

With a guaranteed funding of P75 billion over a period of five years, the CFIDP can have a huge, I mean huge, impact on the Philippine coconut industry and the 3.5 million farmers depending on it. And many of our coconut farmers comprise the country’s “poorest of the poor.”

The P75 billion for the CFIDP will be disbursed as follows: P10 billion each for the first and second years of the plan; P15 billion each in the third and fourth years; and P25 billion in the fifth year, including interest earned by the fund.

Coconut is currently planted in 3.6 million hectares of land, mostly in 69 provinces that host around 347 million fruit-bearing trees.

However, much if not most of the 347 fruit-bearing coconut trees nationwide are of the lowyielding tall variety and not the high-yielding hybrid variety.

And the tall varieties, which are decades old now, can yield only 50 coconuts per year, which is very low compared to hybrids developed locally that can yield from 100 to as much as 250 coconuts per year.

So, just imagine the result if we are able to replace at least a third or 33 percent of the country’s coconut trees with high-yielding varieties in one year — by the fifth year, we could have at least 115 million high-yielding varieties producing 100 to 250 nuts per year.

But to undertake a massive replanting in the next five years, we need to produce hundreds of thousands or even millions of coconut seedlings through the somatic embryogenesis technology. I learned that the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, along with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), University of the Philippines, Bicol State University and Visayas State University, has been testing and evaluating that technology specifically for coconut. So, it may be high time to roll out that technology on a commercial scale.

However, producing more coconuts is just one component to uplift the socioeconomic standing of our coconut farmers, as they will earn more if they are given assistance to establish their own processing facilities. This, in turn, will allow them to produce their own value-added products from coconut like oil, desiccated coconut, coir, fuel additive (in the form of coco methyl ester), gata (milk), water and sugar.

Fortunately, Section 4-f of RA 11524 stipulates the establishment of shared facilities for use by coconut farmer organizations, getting a hefty P7.5 billion or 10 percent of the total fund for that purpose.

However, there should be careful planning to make sure the shared facilities will make coconut farmer organizations enter the value chain of the commodity, and make them viable business enterprises. And with assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry, these coconut farmer enterprises should be able to market their products to a wider domestic market and for export.

Hence, the organization of farmers into cooperatives that can operate like viable business enterprises is crucial in the success of the CFIDP.

Other agencies involved

The PCA, an agency under the Department of Agriculture, will spearhead the implementation of the CFIDP, but other agencies will also be involved in its various components.

For the health and medical program of coconut farmers, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. will be tapped while the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. will provide crop insurance services. Scholarships will also be granted through the Commission on Higher Education, and training and farm schools will be provided by the Agricultural Training Institute under the DA and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

The formation and development of farmers cooperatives and associations will be spearheaded by the Cooperative Development Authority.

And while the PCA will lead the hybridization efforts of coconut trees, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development will spearhead the research and development for high-yielding coconut varieties.

Provision of other support services like credit will be spearheaded by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, while marketing and market promotion will be undertaken by the Department of Trade and Industry.

And the building of farm-tomarket roads and other related infrastructure will be undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

‘Sleeping giant’

According to statisa.com, the Philippines was the third-largest producer of coconuts in 2020, behind Indonesia and India. For that year, the country produced 14.49 million metric tons (MMT) of coconut while Indonesia and India accounted for 16.82 MMT and 14.7 MMT, respectively.

And I can recall that decades ago, the Philippines was the top producer of coconuts globally and the second top producer prior to the pandemic.

If the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan is faithfully implemented, the Philippines can revive its coconut industry and more importantly, lift millions of coconut farmers from extreme poverty. The Philippines can also expand the range of products it exports, while increasing the volume of coconut oil exports.

The coconut farming system can also host diversification so farmers can have additional sources of income from raising other crops and livestock, poultry and aquaculture.

Besides traditional food crops like vegetables, the coconut farming system can also be planted with cash crops that have export potential like coffee, cacao and cassava, among others.

From 2014 to 2018, according to the PCA, the country’s average export revenues from coconut products was P91.4 billion annually. And today, the Philippines is still the top exporter of coconut oil, accounting for 52.48 percent of the global market. The country also accounted for 35.91 percent of the international desiccated coconut market.

Clearly, the Philippine coconut industry is a “sleeping giant” with a huge potential to contribute to the country’s overall economic growth. And the fund — amounting at least to P75 billion — is already there to level up the coconut industry over the next five years.

I must also emphasize that political will is urgently needed for the success of the CFIDP, as we need to assure its corruptionfree and timely implementation nationwide.

And if the Marcos administration succeeds with the CFIDP, that will be among the lasting legacies of our President not only for the agriculture sector but for the whole country as well.