The multi-agency Trust Fund Management Committee (TFMC) has taken the initial steps for the implementation of programs and activities that will benefit coconut farmers, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
TFMC is mandated under the law to oversee the management and use of the coco levy funds, whose cash assets now amount to around P76 billion.
The DOF said in a statement these initial steps include the drafting of guidelines for the disbursement of allocations in the implementation of programs, projects and activities financed through the coco levy fund.
These programs, projects and activities should be in line with the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP), which the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is currently finalizing.
Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, said yesterday to directly benefit coconut farmers, TFMC is looking at training programs on new technologies, crop insurance and credit access, while for the entire industry, it is ready to fund the development of hybrid coconut seed farms, research and infrastructure.
The DOF said Republic Act No. 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (CFITF) Act was signed into law by President Duterte earlier this year, marking the fulfillment of his promise to return the coco levy funds to their true and rightful owners — the coconut farmers.
“With the Coco Levy Trust Fund Law in place, we now have a powerful instrument to revitalize and reinvent the coconut industry and support our coconut farmers,” Dominguez said in his message at the virtual Coconut Investment Forum. – Angela Celis
