MikeLigalig.com

by Agence France Presse

Millions of Philippine coconut farmers face a growing crisis in their livelihoods, an official said Tuesday, as their trees become too old to produce the fruit that is a mainstay of the country's exports.

More than 44 million coconut trees -- 14 percent of the national total -- are past their most fertile age, and without a sufficient replanting programme the industry could be in trouble, warned Euclides Forbes, administrator of the official Philippine Coconut Authority.

He said the government does not have enough money to support the industry, on which 25 percent of the population depends, and private planters are not doing enough.

"If the trees are not replaced, the fall in our coconut production will accelerate. In three to five years, we will not be able to meet export demand," he told AFP.

He did not say why farmers are not planting new coconuts on their own, but in the past they relied on government incentives to boost production.

Coconut products like dried coconut meat and coconut oil are the Philippines' largest agricultural exports, earning $1.508 billion dollars for the country last year, official data show.

Coconut Authority figures show production in 2011 is expected to hit only 2.57 million tonnes, down more than 13 percent on 2010 while coconut oil exports will amount to only 1.5 billion tonnes, down 30 percent on the year earlier.



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