Ilongga solon seeks reforms in coconut industry policies
AAMBIS-Owa Rep. Sharon Garin said the government must act swiftly and decisively on the state of the coconut industry instead of idly waiting for the controversial release of the P200 billion coconut levy funds.
“Must we keep waiting and only wait for the coconut levy funds and not act while the Philippine coconut industry is sliding down unto a flop of ruins?”, the Ilongga lawmaker said in a privilege speech.
She represents the Ang Asosayon Sang Mangunguma Bisaya-Owa Mangunguman Inc., a party-list for marginalized farmers in the Philippines.
Garin, daughter of Philippine Coconut Authority Administrator Oscar Garin Sr., urged her colleagues and the present Department of Agriculture to facilitate necessary reforms in policies and allocation for the ailing coconut industry which affects 3.5 million coconut farmers.
The industry, which covers 3.4 million hectares of coconut farms, equivalent to 30 percent of arable agricultural land, has roughly over more than $1 billion in export earnings per year, and over 24 million Filipino stakeholders.
“Lamentably, the abundance of the resources is inversely related to the state of the coconut industry and of the coconut farmers,” Garin said.
She urged her colleagues and the Department of Agriculture to give voice to and stand up for the coconut farmers in the Philippines who have long been suffering due to the dismal plight of the coconut industry.
“What is traditionally known as the tree of life has practically become a tree of despair for the coconut farmers throughout the Philippines. If the coconut farmers are the essential bedrock of the industry, then their dismal condition reflect the state of the industry they belong to – dearth in opportunities and income vastly incongruous to the tree of life that they cultivate,” Garin said.
The data she presented show that coconut has the lowest farm value per hectare among crops. Depending on the crop yield and prices, an average coconut farmer would earn only around P15,000 per hectare per year. Consequently, with a coconut farm of 2.4 hectares, a coconut farmer would only earn P36,000 per year.
“For a farmer solely dependent on coconuts, this translates to a monthly income of P3,000. For a family of five, this means they are surviving on a budget of P20 per person per day,” Garin said.
She added that the coconut industry is besieged by problems, which do not only drag the industry down the drain but also the overall economic performance of the Philippines.
Garin said these problems are simple and complex ranging from decreasing production due to senile trees, illegal logging, poor fertilization, monocropping, and too much focus on copra, to the equally aggravating weak institutional, policy, technical, and financial support from the government.*
