Samar coco industry shows promise
Catbalogan, Samar (28 June 2005) -- PCA urged all LGUs to forge partnership with them in acquiring hybrid coconut seeds to arrest the declining production of coconut.
The lack of budgetary support from the LGUs to replace some senile coconut trees in Samar hamper the project, said OIC Provincial Coconut Development Manager Emiberto Acasio.
Acasio in an interview said that the coconut industry is still dependable at the moment; but due to an estimated decrease of 3% production based on national data, the industry has to be revived.
This decline in local production has significantly affected country's export volumes. Data showed that in the period of January to April, Philippine exports of coconut oil has gone down to 306,460 metric tons as against the 317,471 MT exported during the same period last year.
However, in May exportation of crude coconut oil to Italy reached only 8,550 MT and 5,000 MT to San Francisco.
The scheme for distribution of coconut seeds is envisioned to give LGUs the responsibility to transport coconut seeds from the National Coconut Seeds Production Center in Aroman, Cotabato but these seeds are free courtesy of PCA pegged at P25 per nut. PCA assured that this is high yielding and takes only some five years to produce.
In Samar, a total of 10,273,440 coco trees are planted but only 7,624,101 are considered bearing; leaving some 2,649,339 as non-bearing with senile trees numbering 977,767. Samar has some 58,248 coconut farmers.
A promising development though in the coconut industry includes the market of non-copra products like macapuno and virgin coco oil. Coconut farmers then are not easily discouraged when copra prices go down; alternative coco products can cushion them from the price decline.
In Calbayog City, SAMRCOCO is set to distribute some 13,000 seedlings in July this year.
But just the same, PCA is pleading with LGUs to help them so that high yielding coconut varieties reach the small coconut farmers in an effort to increase their production and eventually improve their quality of life. (PIA)
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