President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday approved a P3.5 billion budget for the ongoing program of the government to plant 100 million coconut trees by 2028 and reclaim the Philippines’ position as the top producer of coconuts and leading global exporter.
Marcos gave his approval during the sectoral meeting in Malacañang following the presentation of a detailed plan to develop the coconut industry in all areas of the value chain, together with the necessary funding and the timeline to accomplish its targets.
Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Dexter Buted said P1 billion would go to the planting and replanting program of coconut trees, while P2.5 billion will be for the fertilization programs of the coconut industry in 2025.
The PCA aims to plant 15.3 million trees in 2025, out of the 100 million targeted for 2028.
Under the Philippine Coconut Industry Development Plan 2024-2034, the industry aims to plant 100 million coconut seedlings in 700,000 hectares of land by 2028 all over the country to increase coconut production by 4.7 billion, valued at P33.1 billion by 2034.
Marcos said his administration is focusing more on the production side and “the critical part of that is the replanting.”
“I have instructed the agencies central to our coconut industry to do whatever is necessary to reclaim our position as the top producer of coconuts and maintain our status as the leading global exporter. This directive includes the development of the entire value chain and a clear timeline to achieve these objectives,” he said in a social media post.
He added with a big market for coconut products, he expects the private sector to buy all the supply “because the market is so large and growing” and the industry has not reached the market’s limit on coconut demand.
The Philippine coconut industry has contributed $3.22 billion to the country’s export earnings in 2022 which is 43 percent of the country’s total agricultural exports.
Program Convergence Budgeting
Marcos, on Tuesday, also approved the implementation of the Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB) for livelihood and employment initiatives in the country and the creation of an inter-agency council that would govern it.
The creation of the inter-agency council stemmed from the proposal of the Department of Budget and Management.
Marcos tapped the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary to head the PCB, which shall focus on government resources on key programs and projects that shall be coordinated in a holistic approach across departments or agencies working towards the same goals.
It will also review the budget requirement for livelihood and employment of the beneficiaries to prevent duplication.
“What we are trying to do is to cut out the duplications. I know there is a need for this. It’s just a question of getting it right,” Marcos said.
Aside from DOLE, the Department of Social Welfare and Development or the Department of Agriculture may also be asked to lead the PCB.
