THE Department of Agriculture (DA) asked the 20th Congress to amend the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act to refocus the law to support replantings.
“We must revise the law to focus the trust fund’s resources on the most critical needs — particularly replanting,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement.
“Many of our coconut trees are senile. If we don’t replace them immediately, we risk the industry’s future.”
Coconut trees over 50 years old produce less than half the typical yield. Younger trees produce around 80-100 nuts a year.
“While the fruit-bearing capacity of older trees may be temporarily boosted with salt fertilization, replanting is the only long-term solution to sustain the viability of the coconut sector,” the DA said.
With 3 million farmers working on 3.6 million hectares of coconut plantations, the Philippines is the world’s second-largest coconut producer and exporter after Indonesia.
But the DA said the sector is “underperforming,” with only 134 processing plants operating — many at just 50% capacity — and 60 oil mills remaining well below their combined capacity of 3.7 million metric tons due to “low farm yields.”
“These reforms are about more than productivity — they’re about securing the livelihoods of millions of Filipino coconut farmers,” the DA said.
Each year, the industry exports an average of $2 billion worth of crude and refined coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra meal, and coconut water from about 14 to 15 billion nuts.
“If the Philippines can increase yields, it could ride the wave of increasing demand for coconut oil, particularly in Europe,” the DA said.
“Although the yearly targets are expected to be met, the current pace of planting still needs to be accelerated to assure the industry’s sustainability,” it added.
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) planted 8.6 million seedlings in 2024, exceeding the 8.5 target even during El Niño.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. set a target of planting 100 million coconut trees by 2028.
For 2025, the government has allocated P1 billion for planting and P1.8 billion for fertilization.
“But to truly scale the effort, the P80-billion trust fund must be refocused toward high-impact programs that lift productivity and farmer incomes,” the DA said.
“The proposed amendment will allow greater flexibility to ensure a more responsive and adaptive approach to the evolving needs of coconut farmers and the industry.”
Aside from replanting, the proposed amendment to the trust fund law should also finance drip irrigation, water impounding, fertilization, and farmer welfare programs. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza