Milking The Coconut Industry In The Philippines

More than 5 years ago, in February of 2015, former UP System President Emil Q Javier came up with a position paper published by the National Academy of Science and Technology titled “Modernization Of The Coconut Industry” (NAST Bull 8, 5 pages in pdf). In Bull 8, Mr Javier showed that we had scarcely milked the coconut dry of its numerous food, medicine and other benefits. (coco fruits image[1] from The Kahimyang Project, glasses of milk[2] from Stanpac)

Here comes the news from the Department of Agriculture, DA, under Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, “DA Moves To Integrate Coconut, Dairy Farming[3]” (Louise Maureen Simeon, 20 September 2020, PhilStar Global). The Memorandum of Agreement, MoA, has been signed for the Coconut-Carabao Development Project, CCDP. The CCDP is primarily aimed to raise the income of coco farmers to desirable levels. It is a 2-year project covering 17 sites nationwide.

The CCDP is a collaboration of the Philippine Carabao Center, PCC, and the Philippine Coconut Authority, PCA, both agencies under the DA. The CCDP will be working with local government units, LGUs, municipal and/or provincial, “for the provision of technical support services, monitoring, and allotment of space for marketing facilities.”

So, the coconut fields will be giving out another form of commercial liquid: carabao’s milk. As a consumer myself, that is a much welcome news. In my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, we have had a herd of Indian buffalos being raised by a cooperative for their milk – and I can assure you that the milk is delicious!

 “The milk produced out of the CCDP is seen to contribute to the supply of milk required… for the national feeding program for undernourished Filipino children.”

According to Mr Javier, there are about 3 million farmers primarily engaged in coconut “cultivation” – which in reality is mostly watching over the area where the coconut trees are growing. He says the Philippines is “the world’s largest coconut producer and coconut oil exporter.”

Mr Javier asks:

We are the global leader in coconut production. How do we keep that dominant position and at the same time generate greater value out of that comparative advantage? In other words, how do we modernize the Philippine coconut industry to make it more productive, globally competitive but environmentally sustainable and equitable, particularly to the small farmers who can be and are often short-changed in the rush toward agriculture modernization?

Since we have giant headaches with coconut farming and farmers, why not switch to oil palm and rubber instead?

Mr Javier says:

(1)   Coconut is typhoon-resilient and salt-tolerant. The tree can be uprooted and/or broken only by extremely strong winds.

(2)   Coconut has a diversity of uses that oil palm and rubber cannot match.

(3)   With sunlight filtering among the trees, we can intercrop with both annuals and perennials, thus creating more employment, more food – and more cash for the coco farmers.

More crops, more produce, more income. Yes Sir, our coco farmers have for too long remained poor!

Milk out of those tall trees? That would be using our coconuts!@517

 

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[1]https://kahimyang.com/kauswagan/articles/2451/today-in-philippine-history-june-30-1973-philippine-coconut-authority-was-established-by-virtue-of-pd-no-232
[2]https://www.stanpacnet.com/glass-packaging-benefits/
[3]https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/09/20/2043667/da-moves-integrate-coconut-dairy-farming