VCO brings hope to mothers, farmers
Libertad, Antique - The wonder of coconut has once again captured the interests of mothers and farmers in the Municipality of Libertad in Antique.
In the recent 2-day training on the production of virgin coconut oil (VCO) sponsored by Libertad Farmers' Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in collaboration with Western Visayas Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (Wesvarrdec) and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Region 6, the participants who are mostly mothers found out the prospects of VCO as source of additional income for their family.
"We are thankful to Wesvarrdec and PCA. We learn a technology like VCO that could help us gain profit with little efforts', said one of the participants.
In her remarks, Mary Jean Te, municipal mayor of Libertad, recognized the market potential of VCO.
"VCO has a big market, especially since it has medical uses and can cure many illnesses. That is why this training is very helpful for our farmers and housewives because it capacitates them to produce VCO not only for personal use but for commercialization which eventually could augment their meager income", said Te.
Mr. Ruben Nerecina, project development officer of PCA region 6, served as resource person in the training. He highlighted the many benefits VCO brings.
"VCO has multiple uses. Studies reveal that VCO can help prevent sicknesses like skin problems, ulcer, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, immature aging and degenerative diseases and others. VCO is even called the healthiest oil", said Nerecina.
According to Nerecina, the use of VCO is gaining popular today. The demand is increasing. Hence, the very reason why there is a need to capitalize in production.
However, Nerecina stressed that farmers should likewise plant coconut trees to have a steady supply of raw materials for VCO production.
He said that PCA is willing to help coconut farmers to establish their farms. Hybrid coconut seeds are now available in PCA.
The training on VCO marks the start of the week long celebration of Libertad's Pasundayag 2006 and Banigan Festival scheduled on March 14-16, 2006.